
Book. 



.7?5 ? 



Qpjghl N°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Stories of Bible Victories 

From the Old Testament 



By 
EMMA A. ROBINSON 




CINCINNATI: JENNINGS AND GRAHAM 
NEW YORK: EATON AND MAINS 



f^ARY of CONGRESS 
wo Oooies Received " 
SEP 12 !90f 
Copyright Bntry 

COPY B.' 






Copyright, 1907, 
By Jennings & Graham 



like mvn t fee &irttn$. rt — i Cor. xvi, 13. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter Page 

Foreword, 7 

I. The Triumph of Obedience, - - 11 

II. A Prayer Victory, - - - - - 18 

III. A Victory of Faith, - - - - 23 

IV. A Queer Kind of a Victory, - - - 30 
V. The Conquest of a Selfish Nature, - 34 

VI. A Map Lesson, - - - - - 41 

VII. Victory Over Difficulties, - - 51 

VIII. A Great Conqueror, - - - - 60 

IX. A Great Conqueror, Continued, - 65 

X. A Succession of Victories, - - - 70 

XI. Victory Out of Defeat, - - 77 

XII. The Triumph of a Great Faith, - - 83 

XIII. The Victories of a Long Life, - - 87 

XIV. A Threefold Victory, - - - - 94 

XV. The Triumph of Right, - - - 10 1 

5 



Contents 

Chapter Page 

XVI. A Giant Victory, ----- io 6 

XVII. A Victory of Loyalty, - - - 112 

XVIII. The Defeat of the Prophets of Baal, - 117 

XIX. The Conquest of Pride, - - - 122 

XX. A Triumph Over Fear, - - - - 127 

XXI. A Boy's Victory, - - - - 132 

XXII. The Triumph of Faithfulness, - - 137 

XXIII. The Secret of All Victory, - - 142 

XXIV. Victory Through United Effort, - - 149 
XXV. Conquest of Self, - - - - 155 



FOREWORD 



. Boys and girls of ten and twelve years of 
age are hero-worshipers. They glory in strength 
and power, and bow in adoration before the man 
who wins. War stories have the greatest charm 
for them, and where shall they find a book of 
more thrilling war stories than the Old Testa- 
ment? 

The history of God's chosen people is verily 
written in war stories, and the great steps in their 
national progress are read in the word Victory. 
But, as in almost every case, the real victories 
are not the ones achieved on the battle-field, but 
those won in the hearts and lives of leader and 
people; so in these stories, the aim has been to 
so portray the picture that the moral victory shall 
leave its impress on the life, and the battle-field 
be simply the medium for the implanting of the 
great truth. 

In the teaching of these stories, the real work 
for the Juniors will come in connection with the 
map studies suggested for each lesson. This work 
may be made exceedingly interesting, if the leader 
will thoroughly inform herself in regard to the 



Foreword 

geography of the country. To do this will require 
time and study, but the result will far more than 
pay for the time expended. 

To know the hills and the mountains, the 
rivers, valleys, and lakes ; the trees, the flowers, and 
the birds, will give to one a teaching power that 
can not be measured, and will make the stories of 
this book of untold interest to the boys and girls. 

The victory stories should be given simply as 
stories, and then the map study taken up, begin- 
ning with Map I, which gives the general arrange- 
ment of the Old Testament countries in their re- 
lationship to each other. 

Let each Junior make a set of maps, working 
upon them from week to week till they are com- 
pleted, and locating places, first on the map, and 
then on the relief map. 

To make this map work full of vital interest, 
the boys and girls must be able to see, through 
the eyes of the teacher, the barren shelving rocks, 
the gorges and ravines, the oases about the wells, 
the fertile valleys, rugged mountains, and desert 
wastes. 

In making the maps, let each Junior be pro- 
vided with a map board about eight by twelve 
inches, if possible. To this the paper .for the 
maps may be fastened with thumb tacks. 

The pencils for map making should be the 
soft medium, and the journeys be traced with 
either red or blue pencils. In the map outlines. 



Foreword 

the places to be located in advanced lessons are 
indicated by a cross, and the initial letter, and 
should not be put in till they are mentioned in 
the story. 

The outlines to be completed later are indi- 
cated by dotted lines; also the journeys. 

Directions for making the relief map are given 
in chapter seven. 

The references given have been confined to 
one set of books, and Geikie's Old Testament 
Hours has been selected as covering a broader 
field, and one more particularly adapted to furnish 
just the material needed, than any other one 
author. 

Every pastor's library should furnish the 
Junior Superintendent with a reference library, 
where she can not have one of her own. 

Rand-McNally's Biblical Atlas, price $1.50, 
is invaluable to all Bible students. 

George Adam Smith's Historical Geography 
of the Holy Land, price $4.50, is one of the best 
books for making the Holy Land a living reality. 

A Bible dictionary is indispensable to Junior 
workers, either Davis, price $2.00 net, $2.25 post- 
paid, or Smith-Peloubet, price $1.50 net, $1.70 
postpaid, is very satisfactory. 

Geikie's Old Testament Hours, price, six vol- 
umes, $6.00 net. 



Stories of Bible Victories 



Chapter I. 
A TRIUMPH OF OBEDIENCE. 

A long, long time ago, a great many years 
before even Moses could remember, God looked 
down on this earth which He had made. He 
saw something that made Him very sad. The 
grass and trees were just as green, and the flowers 
just as beautiful, as on the very first day. The 
birds sang as sweetly as ever, and all the living 
things that God had created were as they were 
at first, except the most important of all. As He 
looked at the people, He saw that they had be- 
come very, very wicked; so wicked that He was 
sorry that He had made them. 

In all this world, God found just one family 
who loved Him and tried to do what was right. 

He knew that some day, when Noah and his 
family went to heaven, there would not be a 
single righteous man left unless something was 
done. The people would not listen to Noah, or 
stop their wrong-doing, so God said He would 

11 



Stories of Bible Victories 

have to put new people on the earth, people who 
would love Him. 

He did not forget Noah, but told him to 
make an ark or house-boat, five hundred and 
twenty-five feet long, eighty-seven and a half feet 
wide, and fifty-two and a half feet high, because 
He was going to send a flood upon the earth, 
and every one would be destroyed, except those 
who were in the ark. 

Noah began work at once. It took a long 
time to cut the trees, and get them ready to make 
the ark. People wondered what in the world 
Noah was going to do with all that lumber. 
When he told them he was going to make an 
ark, they thought it was a huge joke and just 
laughed at him. 

By and by he was ready to build the ark. 
Then people thought that he really was crazy. 
First one and then another came to watch him. 

"What are you making, Noah?" some one 
would ask. 

"An ark," Noah replied. 

"Are you going to sail it in the grass, or on 
the mountains?" 

"Will you bring water in a pail to sail in?" 
others would say. 

Then some good friend: "See here, Noah, 
this is a great waste of time; you know there is 
not a stream or lake anywhere near, and if there 
was, how would you get that great boat to it? 

12 



The Triumph of Obedience 

It won't be a bit of use to you. And then, Noah, 
do n't you know people are beginning to think 
you are queer?" 

Then Noah told them about the flood, and 
begged them to stop being wicked so they might 
go into the ark, but they only laughed at him, 
and said: "Why, Noah, you must be crazy. 
Think how it rained two years ago, and there 
was not enough water fell to float even a row 
boat. Why, it could n't rain enough water for 
such an ark as that to float, and if it did we 
would go up on the mountains, and be all right. 
Come, Noah, do not be so foolish. You ought 
to be taking care of your flocks and looking after 
your family." 

But day after day Noah worked away. God 
had said, "Build an ark," and had told him just 
how, and it made no difference how much people 
laughed at him, he was going to do it. 

It was a great undertaking for one man, but 
that could not down him either ; so the work went 
on, until at last the ark was finished. 

His friends watched it grow, and gathered 
round when all was completed. 

"Pretty good piece of work," said one. 

"Yes, but what a waste of time!" said an- 
other. 

"When are you going to launch it, Noah?" 
said the third. 

Noah had given up trying to make them be- 

13 



Stories of Bible Victories 

lieve that God told him to build the ark. He had 
won the day, and the ark was finished in spite 
of the hard work, and in the face of their ridicule. 

Then, too, Noah was very busy now. God 
had told him to take into the ark two of every 
kind of animals, birds, insects, and of everything 
that was alive. When this was finished, God told 
Noah to take his wife, his two sons and their 
wives, and go into the ark, and then God closed 
the door and shut them in. That very day it 
began to rain; day after day the rain poured 
down. People left their homes and went up on 
the hillside, then to the tops of the mountains; 
but the water rose higher and higher, till the tops 
of the mountains were covered, and not a single 
living thing was left on the earth. 

Forty days it rained, and it was seven months 
before the water went down so that the ark rested 
on the top of the mountain. All this time the 
man who had had the courage to u win out," even 
though God's command did seem so strange, was 
safe. 

Three months later the tops of the mountains 
appeared above the water. Noah waited forty 
days longer, then he thought the water must 
surely be dried up, so he opened a window in the 
ark and sent out a dove. But she found no tree 
in which to rest, and came back again. A week 
later he sent her out again, and this time she 
brought a leaf back in her bill. How glad they 

14 



The Triumph of Obedience 

were to see a green leaf once more. They all 
crowded round, and each one wanted to feel of it, 
and to smell it. 

"Now we can go out," said one. 

"Won't it be fine to be on the land once more?" 
said some one else. "Let us go right away." 

But Noah said, "No, we must wait a little 
longer." 

The next week the dove was sent out again. 
All day they watched for her to come back, but 
night came and she did not come. The next morn- 
ing she did not come either, and then Noah knew 
that the water was gone ; but still they had to wait 
till the ground was dry. 

It seemed such a long time, but at last God 
told them to go out of the ark. 

How the birds did sing as they flew out into 
the trees, and the cattle ran and frisked in the 
green grass I Noah and his family were just as 
happy as the birds and animals, but instead of 
running or singing, they showed their happiness 
by building an altar and worshiping God. 

Then God said in. His heart, "I will not again 
curse the ground any more for man's sake. While 
the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, cold 
and heat, summer and winter, and day and night 
shall not cease." 

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said 
to them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish 
the earth. 

15 



Stories of Bible Victories 

"And I will establish My covenant with you 
and with your children after you. There shall 
not any more be a flood to destroy the earth, and 
this is the token of the covenant which I make 
between Me and you : 

*MAP I. 



B 






J -A 


c 




7-S 


3-M 


8-A 


9-M 


5 






• 






4-C 




z-c 


/o-P 


S-E 
7* 


6 -A 






P 



V 



5 

o 
o 
Co 



/ooo /I4/Je£ 

"I will set a rainbow in the clouds, and it 
shall be for the token of the covenant between Me 
and the earth. 

"And it shall come to pass, when I bring a 
cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen 
in the cloud. And I will remember My covenant 
which is between Me and you, and every living 
creature, and the waters shall no more become 
a flood to destroy all flesh." 

* By consent of Dr. H. M. Hamill. 

16 



The Triumph of Obedience 

Map Study. 

Key to Map. — At the four corners the Red, 
Black, and Caspian Seas, and the Persian Gulf; 
at the left side the Mediterranean Sea. 

i. Armenia, where the ark rested on Mt. 
Ararat. 

2. Chaldea, the birthplace of Abraham. 

3. Mesopotamia, Abraham's next home, 

4. Canaan, the land of promise. 

5. Egypt, the land of bondage. 

6. Arabia, the wilderness. 

7. Syria, Israel's enemy. 

8. Assyria, Israel's enemy. 

9-10. Media and Persia, the liberators of the 
Jews. 

Make the plan, and fix the location of Mt. 
Ararat for the first lesson. 

Reference. — Bible Story, Genesis, chapters 
6 to. 9: 18. 



17 



Chapter II. 
A PRAYER VICTORY. 

The tents of Abraham were scattered over 
the hills and valleys all about Hebron. Here and 
there, as far as one could see, were the flocks of 
sheep, each watched over and guarded by its own 
shepherd. 

The day was warm, and Abraham, instead of 
going into the tent where he and Sarah lived, sat 
In the door. 

As he looked off over the plains he saw three 
men, apparently travelers, coming toward him. 
He did not know who they were, but, like all 
people in that country, he was very courteous to 
strangers. He did not wait for them to come up 
to the tent, but ran out to meet them, saying: 
"Do not pass by my home. Stop with us, and 
rest awhile in the shade of the tree. Let me 
have water brought, that you may bathe your feet 
and be refreshed as you rest. Then, before you 
go on, you must have something to eat." 

The guests seemed glad to accept Abraham's 
hospitality, and he hurried into the tent to Sarah, 
saying, "Bake us some cakes as quickly as you 
can." 

18 



A Prayer Victory 

While she was doing this, he ran out to the 
herd and brought a young calf, which he killed 
and dressed, ready for cooking. 

In a short time the meal was ready, and 
Abraham brought the meat and cakes, also some 
butter and milk, out under the trees to the three 
strangers. As they were eating, one of the men 
said to Abraham, "Where is Sarah, thy wife?" 
Abraham replied, "She is in the tent." 

Then said the stranger, "I will surely keep 
My promise to you, and in a little while Sarah 
shall have a son." 

Then Abraham knew that one of his guests 
was Jehovah Himself. 

When the men had finished their dinner, they 
rose up and started toward Sodom, and Abraham 
went part of the way with them. 

Then God told Abraham that the people of 
Sodom and Gomorrah had become so very, very 
wicked that He was afraid they must be destroyed. 
He said, "I will go down and see if they are as 
wicked as they seem to be, and then I will know 
what must be done." 

As Abraham looked off toward Sodom, per- 
haps he thought of his nephew, Lot, who lived 
there. Surely, with a good man like Lot in the 
city, there must be other good men. 

Then he said to God: "Will you destroy the 
the righteous men with the wicked? If there are 
fifty righteous in the city, will you not spare the 

19 



Stories of Bible Victories 

city for the sake of the fifty? It is not like God 
to slay the righteous with the wicked : shall not 
the Judge of all the earth do right ?" 

God said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous, 
I will spare all the place for their sakes." 

Then Abraham said: "I have dared to ask 
you, though I am only a man. If there should 
be five less than fifty, will you destroy the city 
for lack of five?" 

God said, "If I find forty-five, I will not 
destroy it." 

"But," said Abraham, "suppose there should 
be only forty;" and God said, "I will not do it 
for forty's sake." 

Then Abraham said, "O, let not the Lord be 
angry with me for speaking: There may be only 
thirty righteous people found;" and God said, "I 
will not do it if I find thirty there." 

Abraham said, u Possibly there shall twenty be 
found there;" and God said, "I will not destroy 
it for twenty's sake." 

Then said Abraham again: "O, let not the 
Lord be angry with me, and I will speak yet but 
this once. Perhaps ten shall be found." God 
said, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake." 

Then God went on His way toward Sodom, 
and Abraham returned to his home, happy be- 
cause he had asked God to spare Sodom, and 
knowing that he could trust Him. 

In all the city of Sodom, God could not find 

20 



A Prayer Victory 

ten righteous men, but He did not forget the 
prayer of Abraham, His friend. 

He could not save the city, as Abraham had 
asked Him, but He did not destroy the righteous 

MAP II. 
tooo Miles 




people with the wicked. He sent messengers to 
Lot, telling him to take his family quickly and flee 
to the mountains. 

Before Lot and his two daughters were out 
of sight of the city, fire came and destroyed it. 

21 



Stories of Bible Victories 

As Abraham looked out from his tent door 
the next morning, instead of the city of Sodom 
he could see only a great cloud of smoke, but 
he was satisfied, even before he knew that Lot 
was safe, for he was sure that u The Judge of all 
the earth would do right." 

Map Study. 

Add to Plan I the outlines of the Red, Black, 
and Caspian and Mediterranean Seas, and Persian 
Gulf, the Tigris and Euphrates and Nile Rivers, 
the Jordan River, Sea of Galilee, and Dead Sea. 

Mark the outline of Armenia, according to the 
dotted lines, and complete the name. 

Locate Hebron, and the probable sites of 
Sodom and Gomorrah. 

The location of these cities is uncertain. They 
may have been either at the north or the south 
end of the Dead Sea. In either case, the smoke 
from the burning cities would have been visible 
to Abraham at Hebron. 

Reference. — Bible, Genesis, chapters 18 and 
19. Geikie, Vol. I, page 389. 



22 



Chapter III. 
A VICTORY OF FAITH. 

Abraham's tents were pitched on the hillsides 
near Beersheba. In the midst of the camp were 
two springs of cool, fresh water which bubbled 
up into the wells which the servants of Abraham 
dug. 

About these wells were great stone troughs, 
into which the water was poured for the thirsty 
cattle to drink ; and surrounding them were beauti- 
ful groves, which could be seen for a long dis- 
tance. 

In this beautiful home, the boy Isaac grew up; 
playing on the hillside, and helping to take care of 
his father's sheep. 

When Isaac was almost a young man, one day 
Abraham heard God's voice calling him. 

He replied, "Here am I." 

Then God said: "Take now thy son, thine 
only son, even Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get 
thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there 
for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains 
which I will tell thee of." 

Could God really mean this? Why, Isaac was 
the son God had promised, and for whom Abra- 

23 



Stories of Bible Victories 

ham and Sarah had waited for so many years. 
Must they now give him up? But God had 
spoken, and His word must be obeyed. 

Abraham did not say a word to any one about 
it, but told his servants to have his horse ready 
for him early in the morning. He then cut the 
wood and made things ready for an offering. 
Isaac was delighted when his father told him that 
he might go with him. A three days' journey 
with his father, through the woods, and over the 
plains, and at last into the mountains, would be 
a great treat. 

Before sunrise Abraham called his son, and 
the two young men who were to go with them. 
The horse was saddled, the wood strapped on his 
back, and lunches put up for the journey; last 
of all, carried very carefully, they must also take 
the fire to kindle the wood. 

Isaac said good-bye to his mother, and started 
off in high spirits. When noon came, they stopped 
and rested for a few hours while the sun was hot; 
then they went on again. 

At night they rolled themselves up in their 
coats, and slept out under the stars. The next 
morning they were again on their way as the 
sun peeped over the horizon, and again rested dur- 
ing the heat of the day. 

Still Abraham said nothing of God's message 
to him. He could not tell the light-hearted boy 
of the terrible ending to his happy journey. His 

24 



A Victory of Faith 

heart must have been very sad, and he could not 
help wondering why God was going to take Isaac 
away from him. 

The second night came, and Isaac, tired with 
the day's journey, was soon fast asleep. The 
young men, too, slept, but Abraham could only 
think of what he must do on the morrow. He 
could not sleep. He bowed his head in prayer, 
and as he talked with God, his faith rose; the 
victory was won. He could offer even his only 
son, Isaac, if God wanted that son, for he knew 
that God could still keep His promise to make 
of him a great nation. He did not know how 
God would do this, but he was sure now that 
God could even raise Isaac from the dead, if He 
wanted to. 

The next morning Abraham saw in the dis- 
tance the mountain to which God had sent him. 
He said to the young men: "Stay here with the 
horse. The lad and I will go yonder and worship, 
and come again to you." 

He took the wood for the offering and gave 
it to Isaac to carry, and he himself took the fire 
and the knife; and they went on. They had quite 
a long walk, and as they traveled, they talked of 
many things; but finally Isaac happened to think 
that they were going to worship God, but had 
brought no sacrifice with them. Turning to Abra- 
ham in surprise, he said, u My father." 

"Here am I, my son," he answered. 

25 



Stories of Bible Victories 

"Behold the fire and the wood; but where is 
the lamb for a burnt sacrifice ?" 

Abraham replied, "My son, God will provide 
a lamb for a burnt offering." 

Isaac may have thought this strange, but he 
was certain that his father knew, and they walked 
on together. They came at last to the place of 
which God had spoken. Abraham built an altar, 
then he took the wood which Isaac had brought, 
and laid it in order upon the altar; next he put 
the fire under it. 

Isaac looked round for the lamb, which his 
father had said God would provide for the burnt 
offering. 

Abraham did not look round, but at last tell- 
ing Isaac of God's message, he took the ropes 
which he had brought with him, and bound him. 

He then laid Isaac, his only son, on top of 
the wood on the altar, and raised his knife to 
slay him. But it was as though some one held his 
arm, for he stopped with his knife in the air. 

"Abraham, Abraham, " some one was calling 
him. 

He answered, "Here am I." 

Then God said: "Lay not thine hand upon 
the lad; neither do thou anything unto him; for 
now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou 
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from 
Me." 

Then Abraham looked, and there close behind 

26 



A- Victory of Faith 

him was a ram, caught by his horns in the under- 
brush. How thankful Abraham was to use his 
knife to cut the cords, and how quickly and joy- 
fully he took his son, his only son, Isaac, from 
the altar! 

He took the ram, killed it, and offered it as 
a burnt offering, and as he and Isaac worshiped 
God, they thanked Him for the burnt offering 
which He had provided. 

Abraham gave to this place a name which 
means, "The Lord will provide." 

Before the offering was all burned, God spoke 
to Abraham again, and said to him: "Because 
thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, . . . 
I will bless thee, . . . and multiply thy seed as the 
stars of the heaven ; . . . and in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou 
hast obeyed My voice." 

Then Abraham and Isaac started back to find 
the young men whom they had left. As they 
walked along, Abraham was very, very glad that 
he had not failed in this test which God had given 
him, for he not only had his son with him, but he 
had God's promise also. 

Map Study. 

Mark outline of Syria according to dotted 
lines in Map II, and complete the name. 

Then draw enlarged map of Syria according 
to Map III. 

27 



Stories of Bible Victories 



MAP III. 




28 



A Victory of Faith 

Locate Beersheba and Moriah. (Probably 
the Moriah to which God sent Abraham, though 
this is not definitely known.) 

Reference. — Bible, Genesis, Chapter 22. 
Geikie, Vol. I, page 396. 



29 



Chapter IV. 



A QUEER KIND OF A VICTORY. 



Isaac was a rich man. He had a great many 
sheep and goats, and many servants to take care 
of them. He needed abundant crops and plenty 
of good pasture land, for so many men and herds, 
besides many wells of water. 

There came a time of famine in the land. 
The wells and brooks dried up, so that there was 
no longer water for man or beast, nor was there 
any rain for the grass and crops. Isaac thought 
to go, as his father had done, into the land of 
Egypt; but when he, with his flocks and herds, 
and his men, reached the country of Abimelech, 
called Gerar, God spoke to him, saying: u Go 
not into Egypt, but stay in this place, and I will 
make room for you here." So Isaac remained in 
Gerar. Here he grew richer and richer, till 
finally Abimelech told him to go back to his own 
country, for he was afraid Isaac would become 
so great that he would want to be king. Abime- 
lech knew nothing of God's promise to Isaac; but 
Isaac trusted God to keep His word. He yielded 

30 



A Queer Kind of a Victory 

to the king, and went farther back into the 
country. 

With so many flocks and herds they could not 
travel very fast, but at last they came to some 
wells which Abraham, Isaac's father, had dug. 

Isaac thought this would be a good place to 
stop, for he was sure of plenty of water for his 
herds. He told his herdsmen to dig the rubbish 
out of the wells; for the Philistines had filled them 
up. He called the wells by the names that his 
father had given them. They dug, too, a new 
well of springing water. But when the herdsmen 
of Abimelech saw that they had digged the well 
and found water, they began to quarrel with them 
about it, and said it was theirs. 

Isaac knew that it was his, but did not want 
to quarrel, so he gave orders to his herdsmen to 
move on. 

Again they found wells which Abraham had 
dug, and cleared them of their rubbish. As they 
were settling down near these wells, whom should 
they see coming but the herdsmen of Abimelech. 
The herdsmen of Isaac did not believe in giving 
up every time, but Isaac said: "We will not 
quarrel. Let us go to another place. " 

The tents were taken down and the flocks 
gathered together, and again they journeyed. 
Coming to a place where there was good pasturage 
for the herds and flocks, they stopped. Here they 
found no well, but the herdsmen began at once 
to dig one. 31 



Stories of Bible Victories 

This time the Philistines did not follow them. 
Some people think that Isaac was a very strange 
man; but he thought he had won a victory each 
time he had given up to the Philistines and 
patiently moved to the next place. 

The strange part of it is that God must have 
thought so too, for after the Philistines stopped 
following Isaac, and he had pitched his tents, and 
his herdsmen had digged a well and found water, 
God spoke to him, and said, u Fear not, for I am 
with thee, and will bless thee." 

Abimelech soon saw that the patient Isaac was 
in the care of a God, far more mighty than any 
of the idols he always worshiped, for he came 
to him and asked him to make a covenant with 
him. He said he would promise not to do Isaac 
or his family any harm, and he asked Isaac to 
promise him the same thing. 

They rose up early the next morning, and 
made this covenant, and Abimelech went away in 
peace. 

This day Isaac's servants came and told him 
that they had dug another well, and had found 
water, but they had no further trouble with the 
herdsmen of Abimelech. 

Map Study. 

Locate Gerar on Map III, also study the 
climate of the country; the necessity of locating 

32 



A Queer Kind of a Victory 

near a well; the custom of digging wells, naming 
them, and planting orchards about them. 

Referenc e. — Bible, Genesis 26, 1 1-32. 
Geikie, page 422; Smith's Historical Geography, 
page 76. 



Chapter V. 
A CONQUEST OF A SELFISH NATURE. 

Two boys, Esau and Jacob, lived with their 
father and mother on a large farm near Beer- 
sheba. Their father, Isaac, was a rich man, and, 
beside his farm, had many sheep and cattle. 

Jacob liked to play about the house, and help 
his mother. He was always on the lookout to 
make a trade, and was sure to come out ahead 
every time. Esau wanted to play he was a hunter, 
and even when a boy would take his spear and 
wander off a long way from home. 

When they grew to be young men, Jacob was 
the one to help about the farm, while Esau was 
the hunter and brought venison for his father 
to eat. 

One day he had been out hunting, and came 
home so tired and hungry that he could hardly 
walk. As he came near the tent which was their 
home, he smelled the dinner cooking. My, how 
good it smelled! He hurried to the door, and 
saw that it was Jacob, who was cooking a fine 
meal of lentils for himself. 

He said to him, u Feed me, I pray thee, with 
that same red pottage, for I am faint." 

But Jacob cared nothing for Esau's hunger; 
34 



The Conquest of a Selfish Nature 

he only thought he saw a chance to get ahead of 
his brother. 

Esau was the oldest son, and to him would 
come, not only his father's riches, but also the 
right to be at the head of the family after his 
father's death ; he would also be the family priest, 
and through him would come God's promise, that 
from his family would come a great nation. This 
was called his birthright. 

Jacob had always wanted the birthright, so he 
said to Esau, "Sell me your birthright, and I will 
give you the lentils." 

Esau was so hungry he did not care for any- 
thing else, so he said he would sell his birthright. 

Jacob was afraid that, after he had something 
to eat he might change his mind, so he made him 
swear that he would sell him the birthright. 

But even then Jacob was not satisfied. He 
had gained the birthright from Esau by unfair 
means, but before it was really his, his father 
would have to give it to him. 

Instead of making a will, as people do now, 
in those days a father would give to the chosen 
son a special blessing. 

Isaac loved Esau very much, and Jacob did 
not dare tell him of the way he had outwitted 
him, so he watched for an opportunity to get 
ahead of his father also. 

Isaac was now an old man, and blind. He 
felt that he might not live much longer. So one 

35 



Stories of Bible Victories 

morning he called Esau to him, and told him to 
go out into the field and kill a deer, and cook 
some of the venison for him; then he said he 
would give to him his blessing. 

The time had come for Jacob to do some- 
thing. If he was to get Esau's blessing, he must 
do it before Esau came back.' He went out and 
killed a young kid. His mother helped him draw 
some of the skin over his hands and neck, for 
Esau's hands were rough and hairy, while Jacob's 
were smooth and soft. While Rebecca, his 
mother, cooked the meat and dressed it so that 
it tasted like venison, Jacob put on Esau's clothes. 

He then took the meat to his father, and 
asked for the blessing. Isaac thought the voice 
sounded like that of Jacob, but when he felt of 
his hands and neck, they felt like those of Esau. 
Still he was not certain about him, so he asked 
him twice: "Art thou my very son, Esau?" And 
Jacob said, "I am." Then Isaac blessed him. 

Jacob had scarcely gone from his father's 
presence, when Esau came with the real venison 
that his father loved. He hastened to cook it as 
Isaac wished, and brought it to him. 

But Isaac, thinking that he had already eaten 
of Esau's meat, asked again, u Who art thou?" 

And Esau replied, "I am thy son, thy first 
born, Esau." 

Isaac was greatly troubled, and cried out: 
"Who, then, was it that came to me and brought 

36 



The Conquest of a Selfish Nature 

me venison? For I have given to him the bless- 
ing." 

When Esau found that Jacob had so deceived 
his father, and gained his blessing, he was very 
angry. He forgot that he had already sold his 
birthright to Jacob, and declared that he would 
kill him. 

Jacob knew that he would keep his word. His 
only safety lay in going away where Esau could 
not find him. This was hard, for he loved his 
home and his mother very much, but he had to go. 

His mother planned for him to go back to 
Padan-aram, the land where her people lived. It 
was a long journey of four hundred miles, and a 
very lonely one for a young man to take all alone. 

As Jacob walked along day after day, he must 
have had time to do a good deal of thinking. 
It must have made it seem even more lonely, as 
he thought how he had cheated Esau, and de- 
ceived his father, and how he was paying for 
wanting the best of everything for himself, by 
having to go away from all those whom he loved. 
In telling of these days afterward, he said that 
he prayed to God, "who answered him in the day 
of his distress." 

One night he rolled himself up in his cloak 
and went to sleep, with nothing but a stone for his 
pillow. 

As he slept, he saw a ladder reaching up into 
heaven and God's angels going up and down on 

37 



Stories of Bible Victories 

it all night. At the top he saw God standing, 
and God spoke to him, saying: "I am Jehovah, 
the God of Abraham, thy father; and the God of 
Isaac. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will 
I give it, and to thy seed. . . . And behold, I 
am with thee, and will keep thee in all places 
whither thou goest, and will bring thee again unto 
this land." 

These were almost the same words God had 
spoken to Abraham in this same place, and right 
beside Jacob, though he may not have known it, 
was the altar which Abraham had built. 

When he awoke, he thought: "God is in this 
place, just as He was at home, and He is taking 
care of me, even though I have been so mean 
and deceitful." He called the place Bethel, 
which means God's house. Before he went on, 
he promised God that if He would take care of 
him, and bring him back home again, he would 
give Him one-tenth of all he had. 

That was much for Jacob to promise, for he 
had always wanted everything for himself; but it 
seemed as though Jacob really meant to try to 
think of some one besides himself. 

Jacob was gone twenty-one years, and all that 
time God did take care of him; but, though he 
did not forget his promise of the tenth, somehow 
it just seemed to be in Jacob to be mean and 
underhanded, and he did many things that were 
wrong. He did not have an easy time, for Laban, 

38 



The Conquest of a Selfish Nature 

his uncle, for whom he worked, was unjust 
many times. Still Jacob prospered, till he had 
many cattle and sheep. Then he took his family, 
for he had married in that country, and all his 
possessions, and started back to his own country. 

It was a long procession, some of the lambs 
and kids were young, and there were many chil- 
dren, so they went very slowly. 

As they came near the country of Edom, mes- 
sengers came to Jacob with the news that Esau, 
his brother, was coming to meet him. 

Jacob was very much afraid. He thought, 
"Now Esau will kill me." He sent very valuable 
presents to Esau, hoping to soften his heart, and 
then arranged to protect Rachel, his loved wife, 
and her son Joseph, if Esau should attack them. 

When night came they camped by the brook 
Jabbok, but Jacob could not sleep. 

In the night an angel of God came and 
wrestled with him. No one knows just how this 
was; but that night Jacob saw how mean and 
little he had been. He saw that Jacob was not 
the only man in the world, nor was he strong 
enough to have his own w r ay against God. 

Somehow, during, those long, dark hours, 
while he was alone with God, God took the old 
Jacob — the mean, deceitful, selfish Jacob — away; 
and in the early morning, when the sun rose, it 
shone not on the old Jacob, but on the new Jacob, 
to whom during the night God had given the new 
name of Israel. 39 



Stories of Bible Victories 

From this time, though Israel is still the 
shrewd business man, we find that God's Spirit 
had conquered the old Jacob, and made of him 
the kind of a man after whom God's own chosen 
people could be called. 

Map Study. 

Turn back to Map II and mark the outline 
of Mesopotamia according to dotted lines. 

Locate Beersheba, Bethel, Haran. 

Trace journey of Jacob on Maps II and III, 
from Beersheba north over the mountain ridges 
to Bethel, where occurred his dream; thence north 
across the Esdraelon Valley, on up the west side 
of the Jordan, past Lake Merom; thence east to 
Haran ; a distance usually given from two hundred 
and fifty to four hundred miles. 

On the return journey, leaving Haran, come 
down the east side of the Jordan to the Brook 
Jabbok, where Jacob wrestled with the angel; 
thence across the Jordan to Succoth, finally reach- 
ing Shechem. 

Add names of places at points marked with 
crosses. 

Reference. — Bible, Genesis, chapters 27 to 
35. For the general features of the country 
through which Jacob must have passed — Rand 
& McNally Bible Atlas, page 31. 

The Journey of Jacob, Geikie, Vol. I, page 
494, Schechem, Historical Geography, page 120. 

40 



i 



Chapter VI. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING RELIEF 
MAPS. 

For making the relief map of Palestine, se- 
cure boards one foot long by eight inches wide 
for each member of the class. This will give 
a map having a scale of fifteen miles to an inch. 
Draw on the board the coast outline of Palestine, 
from a point opposite Mt. Lebanon to a point a 
little south of Gaza. 

Also draw the outline of the Jordan River, 
Sea of Galilee, and Dead Sea. 

In making this map the leader should have 
a good relief map of Palestine for an outline, if 
possible; but if this can not be secured, any good 
map giving the physical features of the country 
will serve. 

The Rand & McNally Bible Atlas will be in- 
valuable in the preparation of maps. 

In order that the proper depression of the 
Dead Sea and Jordan Valley may be maintained, 
the Mediterranean coast line must be elevated. 

The heights of the principal elevations are 
given in the accompanying charts, and such phys- 

41 



Stories of Bible Victories 

ical features as may be of help in making these 
maps. 

In the use of these, one must remember that 
there is very little level land in Palestine, and 
that foothills of various heights will fill the spaces 
between the mountains, while even the plains are 
undulating. 

Estimate the distance between the level of the 
Dead Sea and the Coast Plain and cover the board 
to that depth with the mache. Next, locate the 
principal elevations and build the mountains or 
hills to their proper height, using the gauge as 
suggested. 

With lead pencil or water colors, mark the 
boundaries of plains and fill in, making the surface 
undulating. Study the map, giving the physical 
features of the country, and build the rest of the 
map accordingly. 

The Mediterranean, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, 
and rivers may be painted blue to indicate water. 

When the map is finished, it may be tinted 
with water colors to indicate the different countries 
or different rock formations. 

The cities may be marked with a red dot, and 
the mountains colored in a chocolate brown, if 
desired. 

Material. 

A clean mache, accessible to all, is made of 
three parts of salt to one part of flour and enough 
water to make it the consistency of putty. This 

42 



A Map Lesson 



MAP IV. 



I 







f^w/*"*' 






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JSP *»* 



THVSical Map or "Palestine.. 



43 



Stories of Bible Victories 

may be prepared beforehand, and kept in a damp 
cloth till the hour of meeting. 

Paper pulp may also be used for these maps. 
This may be made from blotting paper, or unsized 
paper, upon which there is no ink, by tearing it 
into bits and boiling it till it is reduced to a pulp. 
It should then be drained, and each child be sup- 
plied with a sponge to absorb the moisture. 

When finished, the map may be taken from 
the board and glued to a piece of cardboard, or 
may be glued to the board. 

In making the map, take a small cross section, 
each week, moistening the edges thoroughly before 
beginning on a second section, in order that the 
map may not crack. 

A gauge for measuring elevations may be 
easily made by taking a steel knitting needle and 
filing or scratching it to indicate the inch, half, 
quarter, and eighth. 

This may be put into the mache to measure 
the elevation, and the mache pressed back into 
place, so as not to leave a hole. 

If each one can not be supplied with a ruler 
having the above markings, narrow strips of card- 
board may be used and marked as suggested for 
the needle. A marked ruler of some kind will be 
necessary for each Junior. 

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 
A narrow plain extends along the entire coast 
line, broken only by Mt. Carmel. Just south of 

44 



A Map Lesson 



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Stories of Bible Victories 



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46 



A Map Lesson 



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47 



Stories of Bible Victories 

the mountain it is eight miles wide, and increases 
to twenty miles at the southern end. 

It has an undulating surface varying from one 
to two hundred feet above the sea level. Just east 
of Mt. Carmel the plain pushes inland, forming 
tiie Plains of Esdraelon. This is a Y-shaped 
valley, with the stem of the Y toward the coast. 
Its extent is about fourteen miles north and south, 
and eight east and west; its elevation is 250 feet. 

West of the Maritime Plain is a region of foot- 
hills extending as far north as Mt. Gilboa. Its 
average elevation is five hundred feet. It extends 
to the mountain region which forms the backbone 
of the country. 

The mountain regions may be divided into 
four sections: 

First, the northern section, extending to the 
Sea of Galilee, with an average height of 2,800 
feet, and its greatest elevation, at Jebel Jermuk, 
4,000 feet. 

The second section, including the Plains of 
Esdraelon, and extending to Samaria, average ele- 
vation 1,800 feet, with the northwest slopes gentle, 
and the southeast precipitous. 

Third, the hill country of Samaria and Judea ; 
a succession of mountains and valleys, the former 
ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 feet. 

Fourth, the south country, south of Hebron, 
and sloping in a series of low hills to the desert. 

The Jordan Valley, west of the mountain 

48 



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Stories of Bible Victories 

regions, descends from Lake Merom, where it is 
seven feet above the sea level, to 628 feet below 
the level at the Sea of Galilee. From there it 
descends 610 feet more to the Dead Sea, flowing 
through a gorge sixty-five miles long, and from 
two to eight miles wide, with barren cliffs on 
either side, to the plains of Jericho, where it is 
fourteen miles wide, and encompassed by moun- 
tains 4,000 feet high. 

The Eastern Table Land. — -East of the Jordan 
is a lofty plateau. The mountains are higher and 
steeper than on the west side of the river. 



50 



Chapter VII. 
VICTORY OVER DIFFICULTIES. 

Joseph was seventeen years old. For several 
years he had helped his older brothers take care 
of his father's sheep. He was not very happy 
with them, for they were often unkind to him, 
and he wished for the day when his father would 
think he was old enough to take care of his own 
flocks, by himself. 

At the time of our story, the sheep had been 
feeding near the home of Jacob, but now the 
grass was short, and there was not enough food 
for them; so Jacob's older sons took them away 
to find better pasturage. Joseph did not go with 
them, but, after several days, his father said to 
him: "Do not your brothers feed the flocks in 
Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." 

Joseph was ready to go, and Jacob sent him 
off, saying, "Go, see whether it is well with thy 
brethren, and well with the flocks, and bring me 
word again." 

It was quite a journey to Shechem, and Joseph 
started off, proud to be intrusted with the message. 
As he came to the hilltop near Shechem, he looked 
for his brothers, but they were not to be seen. He 

51 



Stories of Bible Victories 

shaded his eyes with his hand that he might see 
farther, and looked in every direction. Then he 
went to the next hill and again he looked, but 
still no sheep, and no sign of his brothers. 

As he was looking about, not knowing which 
way to go, he met a man, who said to him, "For 
what are you looking ?" 

Joseph said: "I am looking for my brothers. 
Can you tell me where they feed their flocks?" 

u Why, yes," said the man, "I heard them say 
they were going to Dothan." 

This meant another long walk, but Joseph 
started off, glad to know where to go. As he 
came near Dothan, he could see his brothers and 
the sheep. Perhaps he called to them, for they saw 
him coming long before he reached them. They 
knew their father must have sent him, but they 
were not glad to see him. They thought their 
father loved Joseph more than he did them, and 
they were jealous, so they said: u Now is our 
chance. Let us slay him. We can tell our father 
that a wild animal killed him." 

His oldest brother, Reuben, was kinder than 
the others, and said, "Do not let us kill him, but 
let us put him down this old, dry well, where he 
can not get out." He thought when the others 
were not looking he would take him out and send 
him back home. But Reuben had to leave them 
to attend to his sheep, and as the others were 
eating their dinner, they saw a company of 

52 



Victory Over Difficulties 

Egyptian traders with their camels, and the goods 
they had bought. They were now on their way 
home. Quickly Joseph's brothers drew him up 
from the well and sold him to one of these 
Egyptians. "This," they said, u will be a good 
way to get rid of him, and yet not kill him, for 
he is our brother, and we do not want to do that." 

When Reuben returned, Joseph was gone ; but 
though he wept, and rent his clothes, his brothers 
did not tell him what they had done with the 
boy. 

They took Joseph's coat off before they sold 
him, and before they went home they dipped it 
in blood and carried it to Jacob, saying: "We 
have found this; is it Joseph's?" Even Reuben 
dared not tell what he knew. 

Jacob was very, very sad, for he did love 
Joseph more than any of his other children, and 
now he believed the wild beasts had killed him. 
Joseph, too, must have been sad to think that his 
brothers would sell him to be a slave. 

When he reached Egypt he was again sold, 
and his new master was one of the king's officers. 

The best loved son of a rich and powerful man 
was now only a slave in a strange country. He 
might have been forgiven for thinking that God 
had forgotten him, but his trust never failed. He 
thought, "I am only a servant, but I will be the 
very best servant I know how to be, and God will 
take care of me." 

53 



Stories of Bible Victories 

Before long his master saw that Joseph was 
the best slave he had ever had, and he made him 
the overseer of all the slaves, and, in time, of all 
his great riches. Joseph was a young man to be 
an overseer, but he said to himself, "If God will 
help me, I will be the very best overseer that 
I can be." 

God did help him, and his master trusted him 
more and more. Once Joseph was tempted to do 
a great wrong; but a boy or a man who trusts 
God to help him to do his best is not going to 
be beaten by any temptation, and Joseph was not 
beaten. 

He did right, but the one who tempted him 
to do wrong was very angry, as such people always 
are when they fail, and told a cruel lie about 
Joseph. His master believed the lie, and Joseph 
was sent to prison. 

It was pretty hard to be a prisoner as well as 
a slave, but Joseph knew he had done right, and 
that made him brave. Again he made up his 
mind what he would do. This time he said, "I 
will be the best kind of a prisoner that I know 
how to be," and asked God to help him. 

The Bible says that in prison, "The Lord was 
with Joseph, and was with everything that he did, 
and made it prosper." 

The keeper of the prison soon found him a 
man whom he could trust, and put him in charge 
of the other prisoners. Under his care were two 

54 



Victory Over Difficulties 

of the officers of the king's household, his chief 
baker and his butler, who had in some way made 
the king angry. Each of these men had a dream 
while in prison, which troubled him, for he could 
not understand it. 

In those days men had no Bible, as we have, 
and God often spoke to them in their dreams to 
tell them the things which He wished them to 
know. 

These men did not know the Lord, but be- 
cause He loved Joseph, God showed to him the 
meaning of their dreams, and Joseph explained it 
to them. The baker's dream meant that he should 
die in prison; the butler's, that the king would 
forgive him, and it happened just as Joseph had 
said. 

In his gratitude, the butler promised to ask 
the king to help Joseph, but when he was set 
free he forgot all about him. 

But after a time the king had two dreams. 
None of his wise men could tell their meaning. 
Then the butler remembered Joseph, and told the 
king about him. Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and 
when he found that God told Joseph the meaning 
of his dreams, he made him the chief ruler in 
his kingdom. 

What kind of a ruler was he? Why, just 
the best kind that he knew how to be, of course. 
The boy that was the best boy he knew how to 
be; the slave that could not be overcome by temp- 

55 



Stories of Bible Victories 

tation; the prisoner that did his best, with God's 
help, could not help being a good ruler. 

God had told him that Pharaoh's dream meant 
that for seven years the crops would be abundant, 
but that after that there would be seven years of 
famine, when nothing would grow; and Joseph 
began at once to save the corn during the years 
of plenty, so there would be enough to eat when 
the famine came. 

But where were Joseph's brothers all this 
time? They were still taking care of Jacob's 
sheep. When the famine came, it extended into 
Canaan, and Jacob sent his sons down to Egypt, 
for he had heard there was corn there. 

As they traveled over the same road that 
Joseph had gone over when they sold him to be 
a slave, they must have thought about him, and 
wondered if he was still living. Perhaps they won- 
dered how it must feel to be a slave, and belong 
to some one else, for they had never heard a word 
from Joseph since the morning they sold him. 

As soon as they came near to the king's house, 
and asked for corn, Joseph recognized them, but 
they did not know him. They never thought of 
his being a ruler and wearing such fine clothes. 
As Joseph looked at them, he must have thought 
of all their unkindness to him, and of the hard 
times that they had made him have. He might 
have thought, as they did, the day they saw him 
coming at Dothan, "Now is my chance." 

56 



Victory Over Difficulties 

He did not tell them who he was, but was 
very stern with them. He asked them all about 
their father and their younger brother, whom he 
had loved, and whom they told him they had left 
at home. He sold them the corn, but had every 
man's money put back in his sack secretly. He 
then sent them home, still not knowing him, but 
told them they could not have any more corn un- 
less they brought their younger brother with them. 

Joseph knew they would have to come back, 
but, O ! it seemed such a long time to wait, for 
this was his opportunity. 

At last they came, and Benjamin with them. 
Joseph could wait no longer. He said to them, 
"I am Joseph, your brother." 

His brothers were so frightened they could 
not speak a word, for they thought, "Now Joseph 
will punish us." 

What was this that Joseph was saying? 
"Come near to me. Do not be grieved with your- 
selves that ye sold me into Egypt." 

They could not believe it possible ! 

Yes, it was Joseph's chance to forgive them, 
and to be to them the very best brother that he 
could be. He had conquered in every hard thing 
that came to him, and now it was easy just to 
forgive the unkindness of his brothers, and forget 
all about it. 

But he must have his father with him. The 
brothers went back to Canaan, and brought Jacob, 

57 



Stories of Bible Victories 



MAP IV. 




58 



Stories of Bible Victories 

now an old man, and all his family, down into 
Egypt, where Joseph gave them a home. 

When Jacob saw Joseph and knew all about 
him, he was so happy to find him once more that 
he felt his work was done; he had nothing more 
to wish for, and he said to Joseph: "Now let 
me die, since I have seen thy face, and thou art 
yet alive. " 

Map Study. 

Turn to Map II, mark boundary of Egypt, 
and complete name. 

Make outline Map IV, including Syria, Egypt, 
and part of Arabia, as given in Map II. 

Trace journey of Joseph, first on outline map, 
then relief map, from Hebron up through the 
fertile valley, gradually ascending till he reaches 
the high land on which Shechem stands; thence 
to Dothan. From there, with the caravan of 
traders, moving south and east along the coast to 
Joppa, then further inland to avoid the sand- 
storms, passing through Gaza, and on south across 
the desert to the Nile River. 

Note the change in climate and scenery as he 
travels south. 

Reference. — Bible, Genesis, chapters 37 to 
47. Geikie, Vol. I, page 447. 



59 



Chapter VIII. 
A GREAT CONQUEROR. 

God's chosen people were slaves. After the 
famine they had remained in the land of Egypt, 
and for Joseph's sake the king made them his 
friends; but a new king came to the throne, who 
did not know Joseph; then another king, and an- 
other, and each one was more unkind to the 
Israelites, whom they called the Hebrew people. 

The Israelites were now a great nation, and 
they must have their freedom, but who would 
make them free? The king of Egypt might, but 
instead he gave orders to their masters to be more 
cruel to them than they had been. 

They could not fight for their freedom, be- 
cause slaves had no chance to learn to be soldiers, 
and besides, who would be their leader? 

There was no one to fight for them. What 
could they do? Just one thing; they could pray 
to God. Sometimes, perhaps, they thought that 
God did not hear their prayers, for their Egyptian 
masters made them work harder and harder. 

They did not know that up in the palace of 
the King Pharaoh, God was doing a most won- 
derful thing for them. They must have a leader 
before there was any hope for freedom, but that 

60 



A Great Conqueror 

leader would have to know a great deal more than 
a poor slave could learn ; and though they did not 
know it, God Himself was training such a man. 

Many years before, a tiny Hebrew baby was 
hidden in the tall rushes near the river, by his 
mother, who was trying to save him from the 
cruel Egyptian soldiers. And God put it into the 
heart of the daughter of the king to go to the 
river, and there she found the baby. 

The princess loved the beautiful little boy, and 
took him from his cradle in the rushes. Then the 
baby's sister, who had been watching, O ! so 
anxiously, from a hiding place near by, came 
bravely out, and said, "Shall I not get you a nurse 
for him?" The princess was pleased, and the little 
maid ran quickly and found the baby's own 
mother. She dared not tell the princess that the 
baby was hers, but was happy because she might 
live with him and care for him. 

And so it happened that in the palace of 
Pharaoh the Hebrew boy, Moses, was living as an 
adopted son. He went to school, and was taught 
everything that a king's son should know; and 
since his nurse had been his own Hebrew mother, 
he had also been taught about God and about his 
own people. 

The palace in which Moses lived was so large, 
it was like a small town. In the center was the 
great building where the king's rooms were, and 
also the banquet hall ; all about were smaller build- 

61 



Stories of Bible Victories 

ings of different sizes, connected with each other 
by little bridges, under which were small streams 
of water; which made the palace look like a town 
built upon islands. All the buildings were gaily 
painted, and at every gate were flag-staffs float- 
ing red and blue flags. 

At* one side was a thick grove of trees, and in 
this was the palace of the women. In some of 
the rooms the carpets were of blue and silver, and 
the furniture was beautifully embroidered and 
decorated with plumes. 

At the banquets which Moses, as the king's 
son, must have attended, some of the dishes, made 
of gold, were so large and heavy, they were 
brought into the banquet hall on wheels. Flowers 
and fruits were everywhere, and gaily dressed 
slaves served the guests. 

There was nothing a boy or young man could 
want, that Moses might not have in this home. 
But down in his heart, Moses knew that he be- 
longed to the despised Hebrew slaves, and as he 
grew to manhood he thought more and more about 
his people. As he saw how cruelly they were 
treated, he was very much troubled. Some one 
ought to help them. Why did n't they fight for 
themselves? he often asked himself. Then he 
would go back to a great banquet or excursion on 
the river, and forget all about them. 

But God did not forget, and in a few days 
Moses would again remember the Hebrew chil- 

62 



A Great Conqueror 

dren. At last, one day something down in his 
heart said, "You are the one to help your people." 
Moses knew it was God speaking to him, but how 
could he, the king's son, help the slaves? He 
might talk to Pharaoh, but he knew that would 
do no good. The only way was for him to give 
up his home in the palace, put aside his fine clothes, 
his horses, and everything the king gave to him, 
and go back and be the leader of the Hebrew 
people, and, perhaps, just be a slave with them. 

As he thought about it, it did not seem as 
though any one could expect him to do this, and 
surely it would be very, very ungrateful, after all 
the king had done for him. 

Day after day he thought about it. One day 
as he saw an Egyptian abusing one of the Hebrew 
people, he could stand it no longer, and in his 
heart he said, "I will do it." The Bible says from 
this time "He refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer afflic- 
tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the 
pleasures of sin for a season." 

We might now call him Moses the Conqueror 
instead of Moses the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
for he had conquered the great enemy, selfishness. 

The next day Moses again saw an Egyptian 
strike a Hebrew. He thought the time had come 
to take the leadership of his people, and he killed 
the Egyptian, expecting that the Hebrews would 
understand by this that he was ready to lead them, 

63 



Stories of Bible Victories 

and that they would follow him in a rebellion 
against Pharaoh. 

But God's time had not come, and God knew 
that Moses needed more training. Then, too, the 
Hebrews did not know that Moses was now the 
conqueror ; they thought he was still the son of Pha- 
raoh's daughter, and they did not rally about him. 

Pharaoh was very angry and would have killed 
Moses, had he not fled to the desert. 

Here he lived for forty years as a shepherd, 
a conqueror, being trained by the Great Com- 
mander to be one of the greatest leaders there has 
ever been in the world. 

Map Study. 

On Map IV mark outline of Egypt. Locate 
Egypt, Goshen, the Nile River; Rameses; -the 
home of Moses in the palace of Pharaoh. Midian 
(the peninsula of Arabia). 

Trace the journey of Moses, as indicated by 
the dotted lines, noting the great change between 
the fruitful land of Goshen and the barren wilder- 
ness of the Sinai Peninsula. 

Also make the acquaintance of the Arabs of the 
desert. 

Reference. — Bible, Exodus, chapter 2. The 
Palace of Pharaoh, Geikie, Vol. II, page 92. The 
Flight of Moses, Geikie, Vol. II, page 107. The 
Arabs, Geikie, Vol. II, page 108. Sinai Peninsula, 
Rand & McNally Bible Atlas, page 43, par. 2. 

64 



Chapter IX. 
A GREAT CONQUEROR— Continued. 

The Egyptian task-masters have become so 
cruel that the Hebrews cry to God daily for de- 
liverance. Even Moses is gone now, and in their 
sorrow they fear that God has forgotten them. 

Moses thinks again and again of his people 
back there in the cities, but he has learned the 
great lesson of meekness. He no longer tries to 
do God's work in his own way, but is willing to 
wait until God speaks. 

At last God does speak. Alone on the moun- 
tain-side with his flocks, one day, Moses suddenly 
stops; what is that he sees? It must be a fire, 
but he did not know any one was near. He goes 
toward it ; yes, it certainly is a bush on fire ! But 
look, the bushes about it do not burn! How is 
that? 

He watches ; it is very strange. The bush does 
not seem to burn up at all. He must see what 
it is. But a voice stops him. 

Some one is calling: "Moses, Moses." 

He look in every direction, but sees no one; 
the voice seemed to come right out of the fire. 

He answers, u Here am I." 

5 65 



Stories of Bible Victories 

Somehow, as he answered, he knew that it was 
God who spoke to him, and he was not surprised 
when the voice said: "I am the God of thy 
father," but he "hid his face, for he was afraid to 
look upon God." 

God then told him how the Hebrews were 
crying to Him day and night, to be delivered out 
of slavery to the Egyptians, and said to him: 
"Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto 
Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people, 
the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 

This was just what Moses thought he could 
do so many years ago, but now he was afraid. He 
told God that he was not a great enough man 
to do this; but God said, "Certainly I will be 
with thee." 

"But," Moses said, "the people will not believe 
in me any more than they did the last time, and 
they will not follow me." 

God said, "What is that in thy hand?" 

"A rod." 

Then God said, "Cast it on the ground." And 
he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent, 
and Moses fled from it. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Put forth thy 
hand, and take it by the tail." Moses did this, 
and it became again a rod in his hand. 

God also gave Moses other signs, that he might 
prove to the people that God had sent him. 

"But," said Moses again, "I am slow of speech, 

66 



A Great Conqueror, Continued 

and I am afraid that I shall not say things in the 
right way." 

God told him that Aaron, his brother, should 
go with him, and be his mouth-piece, saying to 
the poeple whatever Moses told him to. 

Moses knew that, even though he was not a 
great enough man for this work, God would help 
him, and he forgot himself and his fears, and 
started back to Egypt. 

The children of Israel were glad, indeed, to 
make him their leader, and he appealed to Pharaoh 
in God's name, asking him to let the people go. 
But Pharaoh would not listen to him. 

At first he simply asked that they might just 
go out into the wilderness for a few days to wor- 
ship God, but afterward he asked that they might 
go, saying nothing about their return. 

Each time Pharaoh refused. God sent great 
trouble to the Egyptians. Then Pharaoh would 
say that they might go. As soon as God took the 
trouble away he changed his mind and refused to 
let them go. Nine times Pharaoh said they might 
go, and then would not let them, till God brought 
a trouble so great that the Egyptians begged them 
to go, and gave them jewels and many other things. 

After the Israelites had gone, Pharaoh was 
sorry he had let them go, and with his army 
followed them. 

The children of Israel were encamped beside 
the Red Sea, and Pharaoh's army marching upon 

67 



Stories of Bible Victories 



map v. 




68 



A Great Conqueror, Continued 

them.* What could they do? They did not know 
how to fight, and besides, they were not armed. 

God did not forget His promise to be with 
Moses. He put a great cloud behind the Israelites, 
so that Pharaoh could not see them. But this was 
not all, for the waters of the Red Sea parted, leav- 
ing a path over which all the great host of Israel 
passed safely; but, just as Pharaoh and his army 
reached the shore and tried to follow them, the 
water rolled back into its place. 

It had been a long, hard struggle, but not a 
spear had been used, and not an* Israelite had been 
killed; but one of the strongest and most cruel 
kings of Egypt had been conquered. 

Moses, the man who had conquered his own 
fears, because God called him, had led his people, 
the children of Israel, to freedom ! 

Map Study. 

Mark the outline of Arabia on Map II. 

Draw Map V, using same general outline as 
in Map IV, adding the location of Kadesh Barnea, 
and Mt. Sinai. Trace the wanderings of the chil- 
dren of Israel in the wilderness. 

Give a vivid picture of the wilderness life, 
marking the camping places at the Red Sea, Mt. 
Sinai, and Kadesh Barnea, with tents. 

Reference. — -Bible, Exodus, chapters 3 to 
14. Geikie, Vol. II, page 115. 



69 



Chapter X. 
A SUCCESSION OF VICTORIES. 

South of the land of Edom is the great desert; 
on every side are barren mountains, caverns, and 
mighty rocks. Amid these rocks a great army lies 
encamped. 

But what a strange looking army ! Not a uni- 
form is to be seen : indeed, the soldiers wear the 
very clothes that their fathers wore when they left 
Egypt forty years ago. 

Look at that camp-ground ! There are more 
tents than one could count. There are great herds 
of sheep and oxen. Yes, and there in the center 
is a church, a tent church ! Who ever heard of 
an army carrying a church around with it? But 
even this is not the queerest sight, for in this army 
are not only men, but also women, boys and girls, 
and even babies. Let us ask this man, standing 
near, about it. 

"Yes," he says, in answer to our inquiry, "it 
is a strange army. Many years ago God called 
these people out of the land of Egypt to go into 
the Promised Land, but they disobeyed Him and 
did not trust even such a great leader as God. 

70 



A Succession of Victories 

"For forty years they have wandered in this 
wilderness, while God was teaching them to trust 
and obey Him. The native tribes have made war 
upon them again and again; many times they have 
been without water ; they have had no food, except 
the manna which God sent from heaven : but now 
God has commanded them to take possession of the 
Promised Land, for which they started so many 
years ago." 

"Where is this Promiesd Land?" 

"Only a little march from here; just north, the 
other side of the land of Edom." 

While we talk with the soldier, something has 
happened in the camp. See, they are taking down 
their tents ! Yes, surely they are preparing to 
start. 

All are ready. The order comes, "Forward, 
march!" Ho, for the land of Canaan! 

But, look, where are they going? The Prom- 
ised Land is to the north, but the orders are to 
march south to the Red Sea, back where they have 
been all these years. 

What does it mean? The people are so dis- 
appointed they begin to complain. 

Moses has sent a message to the king of Edom, 
asking for permission for the Israelites to march 
through his country and promising that they will 
do no damage, but the king is afraid of so large 
an army, and says, "No." There is no other way 
to get to Canaan except to march back round the 

71 



Stories of Bible Victories 



mountain and up on the other side. It is a hard 
/narch, and the people are so unhappy about it 
that they make much trouble, both for themselves, 
and Moses; but at last the journey is completed, 
and they go into camp by the Brook Zered. 

Then comes the order: "Up, cross the stream 
Zered!" 'What a shout went up from that camp! 
It is just a little stream, but the boys and girls in 
that camp, yes, and many of the men and women, 
too, have never seen a stream of running water; 
and then, the other side ! 

O, the trees and flowers, the grass and grain! 
Think of having vegetables and fruit to eat, and 
all the water that is needed for the cattle ! 

No time was lost in breaking camp that day. 
The stream was crossed, and O, how happy every 
one was; but the land of Moab was still between 
them and the Promised Land. 

God had said, "You must not injure Moab," 
so Moses sent to the king of Moab, as he had to 
the king of Edom. He asked that his army might 
pass through the country. He said: "We will 
keep in the highways, and not touch your crops; 
and we will buy from you what we need to eat." 

The king of Moab also was afraid, and would 
not allow them to cross the country, but he did 
let them pass along the edge of it. 

They marched north till they came to the 
Brook Arnon, where they must enter the countries 
of Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, which 

72 



A Succession of Victories 

were between them and the river Jordan. Again 
Moses asked to cross the country, but these kings, 
like the others, said, "No," and Sihon, with his 
army, marched out against them. There was now 
nothing to do but to fight. 

In the first battle the Amorites were defeated, 
and Sihon slain; the second battle really made the 
Israelites masters of all this country, and they made 
Heshbon, the city of Sihon, their headquarters. 

This brought them to the country of King Og, 
who ruled over sixty walled cities. The walls 
around these cities were high and strong, and the 
gates were of iron, but the Israelites had spent 
forty years in training with God, and they were not 
afraid, so they pushed on. 

Kenath was built on a great island of lava. 
When the melted rock hardened, it split, leaving 
deep cracks crossing each other in every direction. 
In these cracks the streets and houses were built. 
The houses were of stone, and even the doors were 
of great, heavy stones. The streets twisted, and 
turned, and crossed each other in such a way that 
strangers got lost in them. It seemed as though 
there was no possibility of this city being captured. 

There were in that country a great many 
hornets; sometimes many swarms of them would 
settle down over a village and drive the people 
out of their houses and away from the village. 
As the Israelite army marched toward Kenath, one 
of these great swarms of hornets settled down upon 

73 



Stories of Bible Victories 



MAP VI. 




74 



A Succession of Victories 

the city. The people fled to the open country. 
The Israelites at once attacked them, and took 
their city from them. 

Next they marched against the capital of King 
Og. The hill on which this city was built was 
hollowed out like a cup, and the city was down 
in the hollow; all around the hill was a gorge, as 
though some time God had dug a great ditch to 
keep every one away from this hill. 

Og thought he was safe here, but he did not 
know that an army with God as leader always 
wins. He was defeated, and killed. The Israelites 
carried away as a memorial of this victory the 
great iron bedstead of King Og. This bed was 
thirteen feet long and six feet wide. 

They had now slain the last of the giant kings. 

The other fifty-eight walled cities w r ere taken 
one by one by this army, w T ith God on its side, 
and the people now had an open passage way into 
the Promised Land, besides having all this country 
for their own. 

While encamped before the Jordan, awaiting 
God's orders to cross, Moses, who all these years 
had been their leader, was taken from them; but 
they had learned that, not Moses / but God was 
really their Commander. 

Map Study. 

Make a new map of Syria on a little larger 
scale, tracing the final march to Canaan, and mark- 

75 



Stories of Bible Victories 

ing the Brook Zered, and the battle grounds at the 
River Arnon, Heshbon, Kenath, and Edrei. 

Mark journeys with blue or red pencils. 

Reference. — Bible, Numbers, chapter 2 r ; 
Deuteronomy, chapter 2. Geikie, Vol. II, page 

349- 



76 



Chapter XL 
VICTORY OUT OF DEFEAT. 

Through Joshua, the successor of Moses, 
God has led the children of Israel across the Jor- 
dan and into the Promised Land. But their trials 
are not over. Canaan is inhabited by tribes that are 
enemies to Israel, and these must be conquered be- 
fore the people can dwell in peace. 

God has given them a great victory at Jericho, 
and the army has pitched its camp outside the 
destroyed city. From here Joshua sent spies north 
to Ai, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the 
land." This was a dangerous trip. They must 
go through a narrow mountain pass. The walls 
of rock rose high on either side; sometimes the 
path was so narrow and steep it was hard to keep 
from slipping and falling into the precipice below. 
Then, too, there were many caves and openings 
in the rocks where an enemy or robbers might hide 
and spring out upon them without any warning. 

The men crept along carefully and slowly, and 
finally came out at the upper end of the pass, where 
they saw Ai just ahead of them, and Bethel close 
by, on another hill. 

They were such small towns that the spies went 
back to Joshua and said to him: u Let not all 

77 



Stories of Bible Victories 

the people go up; but let about two or three thou- 
sand go, and smite Ai. Make not all the people 
toil up thither, for they are but few." 

Joshua listened to this report, and ordered 
three thousand men to make ready to take Ai. 
They went forward, expecting an easy victory, but 
the men of Ai came out against them and they 
fled back to Jericho, frightened and without any 
courage. 

When Joshua and the elders of Israel heard of 
this defeat they were greatly troubled. Ai was 
such a little city that the people would say, "If 
Ai can defeat the great army of Israel, we need 
not be afraid of them," and Joshua feared the 
Canaanites would rise up and drive the Israelites 
out of the land. 

But he knew where to go for help. He prayed 
to God, saying: "Alas! O Lord Jehovah, where- 
fore hast Thou at all brought this people over the 
Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites, 
to cause us to perish? Would that we had been con- 
tent and dwelt beyond the Jordan ! O, Lord, what 
shall I say, after that Israel hath turned their backs 
before their enemies ! For the Canaanites and all 
the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and 
will compass us round, and cut off our name from 
the earth : and what wilt Thou do for Thy great 
name?" 

Jehovah said unto Joshua: "Get thee up; 
wherefore art thou fallen upon thy face? Israel 

78 






Victory Out of Defeat 

hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed My 
covenant which I commanded them : yea, they have 
even taken of the devoted thing, and have also 
stolen, and dissembled also; and they have even 
put it among their own stuff. Therefore the chil- 
dren of Israel can not stand before their enemies; 
they turn their backs before their enemies, because 
they are become accursed : I will not be with you 
any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing 
from among you." 

Then Joshua remembered that God had said 
to him, when he was made commander, "Only be 
strong and very courageous, to observe to do ac- 
cording to all the law; . . . turn not from it to 
the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have 
good success whithersoever thou goest;" and he 
knew that some one in his army must have sinned, 
or God would have given them the victory. 

God then told him how to find out who it was 
that had disobeyed, stolen, and deceived. Joshua 
rose early the next morning and all the Israelites 
came before him. Following God's directions, he 
found that Achan, the son of Carmi, of the tribe 
of Judah had taken for himself plunder of gold 
and silver, and had hidden it among his own be- 
longings. 

Joshua had given strict command that no man 
was to take anything for himself, and his orders 
had come from Jehovah. 

Something must be done. It was not safe to 

79 



Stories of Bible Victories 

have a traitor in the camp, and besides God could 
not give success unless His commands were obeyed. 
Achan must be put to death, and his goods de- 
stroyed, before victory was possible. 

"And all Israel stoned him with stones . . . 
And they raised over him a great heap of stones." 

Then Jehovah said unto Joshua: u Fear not, 
neither be thou dismayed; take all the people of 
war with thee; arise, go up to Ai." 

So Joshua arose arid called all the men of war 
unto him. He chose thirty thousand men, the 
bravest of all in the army, and sent them by night 
to hide themselves in the mountain caves and gorges 
behind the city of Ai. 

And he commanded them, saying: "Behold, 
ye shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the 
city; go not very far from the city, but be ye all 
ready: and I, and all the people that are with me, 
will approach unto the city. 

"And it shall come to pass, when they come 
out against us, as at the first, that we will flee 
before them; and they will come out after us, till 
we have drawn them away from the city; for they 
will say, 'They flee before us, as at the first :' so 
we will flee before them; and ye shall rise up from 
the ambush and take possession of the city: for 
Jehovah your God will deliver it unto your hand. 
And it shall be, when ye have seized upon the city, 
that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the 
word of Jehovah shall ye do: see, I have com- 
manded you." go 



Victory Out of Defeat 

So the soldiers went out from the camp in the 
night, and hid themselves back of the city, as 
Joshua had commanded them. 

Early in the morning Joshua mustered all the 
army that was left, and went up to Ai. Five 
thousand men he sent to lie in ambush on the 
other side of the city, between Bethel and Ai, and 
that night he, with the rest of the army, marched 
into the valley before Ai. 

When morning came, and the king of Ai saw 
the army of Israel encamped before the city, he 
thought, just as Joshua had said he would, that he 
could drive them back as easily as he had before, 
for he knew nothing about the ambush. 

He called his men of war together, and, not 
waiting to protect the city, marched out against 
Israel, not leaving a single man in either Bethel 
or Ai. The army fled, just as it had before, and 
the people of Ai followed after the retreating foe. 

Then Jehovah said to Joshua, u Stretch out 
the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I 
will give it into thy hand." 

Joshua stretched out the javelin; the men in 
ambush, at this signal, rose quickly, entered the 
city, and set it on fire. 

The army fleeing before the men of Ai, turned 
suddenly and began to fight. The people of Ai 
turned back, only to see the city burning and the 
great army of thirty-five thousand marching toward 
them. 

6 81 



Stories of Bible Victories 

Retreat was cut off in either direction, and 
Jehovah gave the victory to the Israelites, even 
as He had promised to do, when sin was removed 
from the camp. 

Map Study. 

Trace on Map VI the further conquest, accord- 
ing to the dotted lines. 

Mark Jericho and Ai. 

Look up and mark on relief map the position 
of Ai. 

Study line of march between Jericho and Ai. 

Reference. — Bible, Joshua, chapters 7 and 
8. Geikie, Vol. II, page 405; Smith's Historical 
Geography, page 120. 



82 



Chapter XII. 
THE TRIUMPH OF A GREAT FAITH. 

The army of Israel were in camp at Gilgal. 
The victories at Jericho and Ai had caused a panic 
among the inhabitants of the land. The Gibeon- 
ites, by strategy, had made peace with Israel, and 
had become their slaves, which gave Gibeon into 
their hands and gave them command of the passes 
to the coast. The rapidly increasing strength of 
the Israelites aroused the fear of the surrounding 
kings. Taking advantage of the absence of Joshua, 
the five kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, 
Lochish, and Eglon formed a league against 
Gibeon. 

If they could just take Gibeon while Joshua 
was too far away to help, they could hold the 
Israelites back, and perhaps keep them from taking 
the rest of the country. 

So it was that, suddenly, without any warning, 
the men of Gibeon found their city surrounded 
by a great host of angry warriors, determined to 
punish them for the alliance they had formed with 
Joshua. 

A messenger was smuggled out of the city and 
sent in breathless haste to Gilgal, to Joshua. 

83 



Stories of Bible Victories 

u Come quickly," he cried, "and save us; for all 
the kings of the Amorites are gathered together 
against us." Joshua proved himself equal to the 
trust God had given him. There was not a 
moment to waste; before the sun went down, his 
plans were laid and orders given. Then came a 
second message; this time from God: "Fear not, 
for I have delievered them into thy hands; there 
shall not a man of them stand before thee." 

In the darkness of the night the army marched 
out from Gilgal. With no light but the stars, they 
traveled steadily over rocks and through difficult 
passes. Before daylight they had covered the fif- 
teen miles between Gilgal and Gibeon, and came 
upon the sleeping army of the five kings. By sun- 
rise the battle was on; all the morning the armies 
surged back and forth, now one side seeming to 
gain, now the other. 

Early in the afternoon the attack of Israel 
grew more fierce; their battle-cry of "Jehovah, 
mighty in battle," rang out again and again. 

The Canaanites were unable to resist the fierce- 
ness of their charge, and the kings gave the signal 
for retreat. The army broke into a panic-stricken 
flight. They ran for ten miles, climbing the steep 
and dangerous ridge of Beth-horon. From here 
the land drops suddenly several hundred feet in 
two miles. The rocks seem to be cut into steps, 
and down these the disorganized army rushed and 
tumbled, thinking only of reaching the walled 

84 



The Triumph of a Great Faith 

cities beyond, and wishing for night to stop the 
pursuit. 

Just at this time a fierce storm broke over the 
valley. The Israelites, from the summit of the 
ridge, saw only the heavy cloud below them; but 
the Canaanites, fleeing down the mountain side, 
were caught by the fury of the storm. 

The mighty roar of the thunder filled them 
with terror, the dazzling flashes of lightning 
blinded them so that many fell and were trampled 
under foot, while the hailstones, some of which 
were of great size, fell with such force that a great 
many were killed. 

"When Joshua reached the head of the ravine, 
the descent before him was blocked with the masses 
of the routed armies." The evening was fast 
approaching; in an hour or two the sun would go 
dow T n, and in the darkness the army could slip 
away. What was to be done? 

Suddenly Joshua thought: "The sun and 
moon belong to God ; why should they not do as 
He says?" No sooner had the thought come than 
he stopped, and asked God to grant this great 
request; then, looking toward the sun, he said: 

u Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, 
Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." 

God honored Joshua's great faith, for the 
Bible says that the sun and the moon stood still 
until the victory was won. 

The one army in wild flight, the other in rapid 

85 



Stories of Bible Victories 

pursuit, rushed downward to the plain. The five 
kings in despair sought refuge and safety in the 
cave of Makedah. 

Word of their hiding place was at once carried 
to Joshua, but he could not stop. Calling to a 
soldier, he said: "Roll a stone before the door of 
the cave, then on in the pursuit. We will attend to 
them later ;" and on they went, capturing and slay- 
ing the retreating enemy. Then Joshua returned 
to the cave where the five kings were imprisoned, 
and slew them. 

At last the victory was won, and so ended the 
long day; such a day as never was seen, before or 
since, when Jehovah fought for Israel. 

But Joshua could not stop. This victory over 
the five kings had opened up the whole country 
to him. Town after town was taken, until all 
of the south and central part of Palestine belonged 
to Israel, and God had fulfilled His promise to 
deliver the people into the hands of Joshua. 

Map Study. 

Map VI may be used in indicating the location 
of the new camp at Gilgal and the position of 
Gibeon. In locating Gibeon, tell the story of the 
strategy of the Gibeonites. Trace the route of 
the hurried march, and describe vividly the retreat. 

Reference. — B i b 1 e , Joshua, chapter 10. 
Geikie, Vol. II, page 414. Old Testament Heroes, 
by Meyer, Joshua, chapter 17. 

86 



Chapter XIII. 
THE VICTORIES OF A LONG LIFE. 

A whole year had passed since Moses led the 
children of Israel out of Egypt, and now God had 
given the command to go up and possess the land. 
Moses would have been very glad to march right 
into Canaan, but the people were afraid, so God 
told him to send some men on ahead, to spy out 
the country, and bring them word about it. 

Moses chose twelve of the most trustworthy 
men, one from each of the great families or tribes 
of the Israelites, and said to them: u Go up into 
Canaan, travel over the country, find out all you 
can about the water supply, the climate, and the 
crops. Learn the number of inhabitants, and what 
kind of people they are; also about their cities, 
whether they are walled or not, and how. strong 
they are, and bring us back some of the fruit of 
the land." 

This was a great honor, and the people gath- 
ered round to see these twelve men start off. They 
went northward into the hill country of Judea, then 
still farther north, coming back by the way of 
Hebron. 

87 



Stories of Bible Victories 

As they came toward Hebron they talked of all 
the things that had happened here. For it was 
in Hebron that Abraham had pitched his tent, 
hundreds of years before. 

"I wonder," said one, "if the tree is still stand- 
ing under which God and the two angels talked 
and ate with Abraham." 

"It may be this very tree which we are now 
passing," said another. 

"That must be the road over which Abraham 
and Jehovah walked as Abraham pleaded for 
Sodom," said another. 

"Yes, and yonder is the field of Machpelah, 
where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, 
Jacob and Leah are buried." 

Caleb, one of the spies, said very little, but his 
heart was strangely stirred as he thought of all 
these things. He felt as though he could almost 
see Abraham as God talked with him, and some- 
how God seemed very near, as they stood on the 
very ground where He had stood. 

The spies stopped in Hebron to purchase 
pomegranates, figs, and grapes, to carry back with 
them to show the people. Now their journey led 
them away from this beautiful country, across the 
barren, rocky mountains of the desert, back to the 
camp of Israel. 

They had been gone about six weeks, and the 
people were waiting anxiously for their return. 
Some one spied them in the distance. Word 



The Victories of a Long Life 

quickly flew through the camp, and immediately 
from every direction people started out to meet 
them. They were loaded with the fruits which 
they had bought. As they came nearer, the people 
could see that two of them had a pole across their 
shoulders, carrying something between them. 

"What can they be bringing ?" every one asked. 
As they came nearer the interest increased. 

"It looks like a sack of something/' said one. 

"Perhaps they are bringing us some corn," said 
another. Each had a different idea. At last 
one exclaimed: "It is a bunch of grapes! Look 
at its size !" 

A bunch of grapes it really was, and- so large 
that it had to be carried in this way. The people 
were wild with enthusiasm when the spies showed 
all the fruit which they had brought. It must be 
a great country which God would give them. 

But what is this they are saying? "Fierce 
giants." "Strong walled cities." "No use to try 
to fight them." 

Only two of the twelve are strong in their 
faith in Jehovah, and His promise to give them 
the land, but it is useless for Caleb and Joshua 
to tell them of this — they will not listen to their 
report. They will have nothing to do with them. 

Caleb tries to remind them of how God led 
them out of Egypt; of the way He had opened 
the Red Sea for them; of the victories He had 
given them. 

89 



Stories of Bible Victories 

"Come," he said, u let us go up at once and 
possess the land; for we are well able to over- 
come it." 

But the other spies said: u No, we are not 
able to go up against this people, for they are 
strong. Why, we saw giants up there, the sons of 
Anak, and we were like grasshoppers beside them." 

Then the people murmured against Moses. 
Some said: "Come, let us select a leader, and go 
back to Egypt. We would better be slaves there, 
than to die here in this wilderness." 

Again Caleb and Joshua said: "The land 
through which we passed is an exceedingly good 
land. If the Lord delight in us, then He will give 
us this land." 

But they would not listen. Then was God 
angry with them, and He said: "Because these 
people have forgotten all that I did for them in 
the land of Egypt, and have not trusted Me, not 
one of them, except Caleb and Joshua, shall go 
up into the land which I promised to Abraham 
and his children." Caleb was made very happy, 
for God said that some day, he should have the 
land through which they had passed for his pos- 
session. This meant that Hebron would be his. 

For forty years Caleb waited for God to keep 
this promise. Moving here and there in the 
desert, he saw first one and then another of his 
friends die, but he was not afraid. The tribes 
revolted against Moses again and again, but Caleb 

90 



The Victories of a Long Life 

was loyal, and all the time he was thinking of 
Hebron, where God Himself had walked and 
talked with Abraham. 

It was a long, long time to wait, but at last 
the day came when the children of Israel crossed 
the Jordan, and came into the land which God had 
promised to Abraham. 

How Caleb wanted to hurry right off to 
Hebron, his Hebron ; but again he must wait. The 
land must be won from the heathen tribes living 
there, and all must fight together. Moses was 
gone; Joshua was now leader of the Israelites: 
would he remember? Caleb could not tell, but he 
stood by him through the six years that the army 
marched back and forth in the land, conquering 
first one city, then another. 

Joshua and Caleb are now old men. The 
enemy are not all driven out, but the time has 
come to divide the land. A great meeting is 
called. As all are waiting for Joshua to assign 
to each tribe the land that is to be its home, Caleb 
steps out. See him as he stands there ! A soldier, 
every inch ! Strong, straight, and full of courage, 
though his hair and beard are snowy white. Hear 
his voice as he speaks. It is the voice of a com- 
mander. He reminds Joshua of the time when 
as spies they visited this land, and that he had 
"wholly followed the Lord God," even when the 
other spies brought an evil report. 

Then he said: "Moses swart on that day, 

91 



Stories of Bible Victories 

saying, 'Surely the land whereon thy foot hath 
trodden shall be an inheritance to thee, and to thy 
children forever, because thou hast wholly fol- 
lowed Jehovah my God.' 

"And now," said Caleb, u the Lord has kept 
me alive these forty-five years. To-day I am 
eighty-five years old, and yet I am as strong as 
I was on the day that Moses sent me into this 
land. Now give to me this land that Moses prom- 
ised me." 

"But, Caleb," some one said, "those great 
giants, the Anakim, are still there." 

"Yes," said another, "and have you forgotten 
about the strong, walled cities? You are too old 
to attempt such a conquest. Let some of the 
younger men take Hebron." 

But Caleb said: "The Anakim were there 
when God promised it to me, and the cities were 
great and walled; but if the Lord be with me, 
then I shall be able to drive them out." 

Then Joshua blessed Caleb, and gave to him 
Hebron for his inheritance. 

Caleb, with his followers, knowing that God 
had promised them the victory, was not afraid 
even of the great giants. He marched against 
Arba, the greatest man of the Anakim, and took 
from him his city, the very Hebron where Caleb 
had stood forty-five years before. But he did not 
stop here. He wholly drove out the Anakim 
from all their country, even as God had told him 

92 



The Victories of a Long Life 

to do. And then, the Bible tells us, the land had 
rest from war. 

Map Study. 

Turn back to Map V. Starting north from 
Kadesh Barnea, pass through Negel or u the 
South/' probably by way of Beersheba and Bethel 
on north to the region about Lake Merom; back, 
though not exactly over the same route, stopping 
at Hebron, and thence to Kadesh Barnea. 

Reference. — Bible — Numbers, chapters 1 3 
and 14; Deuteronomy 1, 6; Joshua 14, 6-15; 15, 
13-19. Smith's Historical Geography, Chapter 
10. Old Testament Heroes, by Meyer — Joshua, 
chapter 17. 



93 



Chapter XIV. 
A THREEFOLD VICTORY. 

It is a fair summer morning in the land of 
Israel. The Jordan Valley seems fairly alive, for 
over the hills and along the highways the people 
are thronging from every side. 

But it is not joy in the beautiful summer day 
that animates them. It is a great fear that has 
come upon them — fear not the less great because 
it is a new one. There is a sort of order, too, in 
the throng. One, looking closely, could see that 
the people are pouring away from the traveled 
highway, and that they bear with them their «rnost 
treasured possessions. 

Another procession is moving up the valley; the 
great Midianite generals, Zeba and Zalmunna, are 
leading their immense army up for the annual in- 
vasion of Israel. The jewels with which the 
camels are decked flash in the sunlight as the host 
moves on; the brilliant scarlet coats of the gen- 
erals and leaders make the army seem like a great 
moving flower garden. 

On they march, leaving ruin behind them. 
Here is a green field, just ready to harvest; the 

94 






A Threefold Victory 

army passes, and the country looks as though it 
had been swept by an army of grasshoppers — every 
spear of grain, every green leaf is gone. 

Up they go through the narrow pass of Wady 
El Jalud, into the beautiful valley of Esdraelon; 
here, surrounded on every side by the mountains, 
they pitch their tents on the east side of the valley, 
and begin their work of destruction. 

As the army marches toward the valley, the 
inhabitants flee to the caves and rocks of the 
mountains. They have seen these soldiers before, 
and they know what to expect. 

For six years, each summer, just as the grain 
was ripe, this Midianite army had invaded the land, 
they had trampled down and destroyed the crops, 
so that there was nothing left for the people or 
their cattle to eat. The army was so great the 
people could not stop them. 

This year, however, though the people do not 
know it, all is changed. The young Captain 
Gideon has been chosen by God to be the leader 
of Israel. From hilltop to hilltop has sounded 
his trumpet call; the armies of Manasseh, Asher, 
Zebulon, and Naphtali heard the call and have 
hurried in to battle with him. 

General Zeba, looking out from his tent, is 
amazed to see an army thirty-three thousand strong 
marching through the mountain pass at the north- 
west. A message is sent in haste to summon Gen- 
eral Zalmunna; Captains Oreb and Zeeb are also 

95 



Stories of Bible Victories 

called, and together the four watch the incoming 
host. 

On marches the army of Israel. They take 
up their position at the west end of the valley, 
tents are pitched, and before night this second 
army has gone into camp. 

Gideon's force is far the smaller, but he feels 
that thirty-three thousand men with God as Com- 
mander-in-chief is enough for the battle. But, as 
the evening comes, Gideon receives a message from 
his Commander: "It is a custom of your people 
to allow all who are fearful to return home. Your 
army is too large. Issue the command that those 
who are afraid may leave." 

Gideon obeys the command, but to his dismay 
twenty-two thousand men file out of camp, and 
march off in the darkness. What is to be done 
now ? Eleven thousand men stand no chance what- 
ever against that great army. 

In the darkness of the night Gideon fights his 
battle. Why has God called him to lead this army, 
and then taken so many of his men away from 
him? He can not do it. It only means defeat; 
surely there is a mistake somewhere. 

But the order of his Commander-in-chief had 
been clear, and before daylight Gideon conquers 
his fear. It is a captain full of courage, who, 
the next morning, gives command to the army to 
remain quietly in their camp during the day, that 
the enemy may not discover their diminished num- 
bers. 95 



A Threefold Victory 

The burning sun beats down on the white sands, 
as the thirsty soldiers lie all day in the camp. If 
they could just go for a drink, or get into the 
shade; but the enemy must not know how few 
they are. Toward evening the order comes to 
go to the spring nearby for water. In their joy 
and relief the soldiers forget everything except that 
they are so thirsty. They rush to the spring, never 
thinking of the enemy just across the valley. No, 
not all of them. Some remember that they are 
soldiers, and that a soldier must not think of him- 
self first. When they reach the spring, instead of 
dropping onto their knees and dipping their faces 
into the water as do the others, these dip the water 
up with their hands; they stand erect and on the 
alert, ready for a surprise attack, even while they 
are drinking. 

The Commander-in-chief sends sealed orders 
to Gideon this time: u These men are true sol-, 
diers; separate them, and send the rest away." 

When the captain counted the army left to him, 
he had just three hundred men. Silently in the 
darkness they made their way back to their tents. 
What did it all mean? They might just as well 
give up now and go home. 

Captain Gideon waited for orders and they 
soon came, but the Commander said, u Go ahead." 
Again Gideon wondered if he had not made a mis- 
take, if it could be that he must fight with only 
three hundred men. He just could n't do it, and 

7 97 



Stories of Bible Victories 

there was no use of thinking of it; but again he 
came off victorious. He put fear away and decided 
to obey orders, for surely his Captain knew what 
He was about. 

Nothing could be done in open battle with such 
odds against him. Strategy was his only hope. 

Very quietly he called his men around him, in 
the darkness, and told them his plan. The enemy, 
he said, were disorganized and fearful. If they 
could be badly frightened, they would become con- 
fused and kill each other. He then outlined his 
plan for the maneuver. The army was divided 
into three divisions; these were to start off silently 
in three directions, and by a detour come up so as 
to surround the Midianite camp. Each man was 
given a lamp or torch, hidden in a pitcher, and a 
trumpet. When all were in their places, Gideon 
was to give the signal; each man would break his 
pitcher, wave his torch, and shout, "The sword of 
the Lord and Gideon," then blow his trumpet. 

The night was dark, scarcely a star was to be 
seen; the soldiers marched with greatest care, lest 
some stone might roll, or some twig crack, and 
call the attention of the sentinels. Not a word was 
spoken; not an order given. 

At every slightest sound they stopped and lis- 
tened, but "all was well," and at last the sleeping 
camp was surrounded. 

Gideon gave the signal; instantly the pitchers 
crashed; into the darkness flashed three hundred 

98 



A Threefold Victory 

dazzling lights as the torches waved; the shouting 
and blast of the trumpets filled the night with a 
din and noise that seemed to come from an army 
too great to be counted. 

The enemy, wakened from their sleep, sprang 
to their feet. They were surprised, dismayed, 
panic-stricken ; every torch stood to them for a com- 
mander, and in the darkness, the camp seemed 
swarming with the hostile soldiers; each thought 
every other man was an Israelite and tried to kill 
him. Then they broke into a run, and started in 
a wild, .riotous mass for the Jordan, but Gideon 
was too quick for them. 

Again the hilltops resounded with the call to 
arms. Many of those who had left the army in 
fear had remained near, and when victory was in 
sight again joined the army of Israel. Recruits 
came from every direction; hundreds were added 
at each village through which they passed. The 
enemy's escape was cut off, and confidence in Cap- 
tain Gideon was restored. A second battle was 
fought, and Israel again was the victor. Part of 
the Midianite army succeeded in making their es- 
cape over the ford at Beth-barah, among them the 
commanders Zeba and Zalmunna. 

Gideon, rallying his forces after the second 
battle, in which Oreb and Zeeb were killed, pur- 
sued the fleeing army and overtook them at Karkor, 
where they were again defeated and the com- 
manders taken prisoners. 

99 
C 



Stories of Bible Victories 

The victory was a great one, and the people 
felt that no honor was too great for Captain 
Gideon. They wanted to make him king, but the 
man who had been too great to be overcome by 
what seemed to be an impossible command from 
his Commander-in-chief, was too great to forget 
that it was really the Great Commander who had 
given them the victory, and that He was still the 
best Leader for Israel. 

Map Study. 

Map VI may be used for this lesson'. The 
route of the Midianites was up the Jordan Valley 
on the east side of the river, across the Jordan, 
past Bethshean, into the eastern end of the Es- 
draelon Valley. 

Their tents were pitched from Mt. Gilboa west- 
ward to Mt. Moriah. 

The stream of testing was probably at the foot 
of Mt. Gilboa. 

The fords where the fleeing Midianites at- 
tempted to cross were at Beth-barah. 

The home of Gideon was at Ophrah. 

Reference. — Bible, Joshua, chapters 6, 7, 
and 8. Geikie, Vol. II, page 484. 



100 



Chapter XV. 
THE TRIUMPH OF RIGHT. 

It is the eve of a most remarkable battle. 
The army of King Saul is very small. When war 
was declared it had numbered three thousand, but, 
while waiting for directions from God, first one 
and then another had deserted, until but six hun- 
dred are left. But this is not all ; not a sword nor 
a spear is to be found among all the six hundred, 
except in the hands of Saul and his son Jonathan. 

The Philistines had captured all the swords and 
spears, and not only that, they had taken the places 
where these were made, so that the Israelites were 
unable to get more. They were now encamped at 
Geba, only about an hour's march from where 
Saul's army lay encamped at Gibeah; but between 
lay the narrow pass of Michmash, and the only 
possibility of an attack, by either army, was in a 
long march around the hills. 

As the armies lay, each waiting for the other 
to make the attack, Jonathan, Saul's favorite son, 
spoke to his armor-bearer. "Come," said he, "let 
us two go against these Philistines. I believe God 
will help us, and He can win with us two just 

101 



Stories of Bible Victories 

as easily as with a great army." And the armor- 
bearer said, "I will go with you wherever you go." 

Then Jonathan said, u When they see us com- 
ing, if they call to us to come nearer, we will take 
it for a message from God that He will help us." 

So these brave boys, trusting only in God, and 
telling no one where they were going, crossed the 
narrow ford and climbed up the rocky hillside. It 
was so steep that if they had made a single mis- 
step they would have been hurled down to instant 
death. Slowly and carefully they climbed, until 
they reached a point near the top, where they were 
discovered by the sentinels of the enemy. Not be- 
lieving it possible that any one could climb up 
that steep mountain side, the sentinels made fun of 
them, saying, u The Hebrews are creeping out of 
the holes where they have been hiding." Then 
they called to them, "Come up, won't you; we 
would like to make your acquaintance." And 
Jonathan knew that these words were God's mes- 
sage of help. 

He accepted the challenge, and before the 
enemy knew what he was doing, he and his armor- 
bearer had reached the top, and twenty men had 
fallen before their arrows. With stones and slings 
they followed the arrows. As the showers of 
stones continued, the Philistines thought the whole 
army had followed them up the mountain, and 
they broke into wild flight. 

Saul, seeing this from his post at Gibeah, 

102 






The Triumph of Right 

started in pursuit. As he went, men came out 
from their hiding places in the mountain caves 
and joined him; each city added recruits, until his 
army increased from six hundred to ten thousand, 
and the Philistine army was overcome and de- 
feated. Some, however, escaped. Saul pursued 
them, and would have easily conquered them, had 
it not been for a foolish and hasty act of his own. 

Without stopping to think how tired and 
hungry his men would get, he had, when they 
started, commanded that not a mouthful of any- 
thing w r as to be eaten, by any one, till the victory 
was gained. Jonathan knew nothing of this, and 
being hungry, dipped the point of his sword in 
some honey, as they passed a wild bees' nest, and 
ate this. The soldiers were almost starved, and, 
thinking that this meant that SauPs command need 
no longer be obeyed, they began to kill the cattle 
they had captured from the Philistines, and to eat 
them. 

Saul called a halt, and demanded to know who 
had disobeyed him. No one would betray Jona- 
than, but Saul would not give up until he found 
out. Then he said Jonathan must be killed, be- 
cause he had sworn that any one who should eat 
anything should be put to death, even though it 
were his own son, and for his oath's sake Jonathan 
must die. 

Now came the second battle. This time not 
even slings were used. It was a battle between 

103 



Stories of Bible Victories 

MAP VII. 




104 



The Triumph of Right 

right and wrong. King Saul loved Jonathan very 
much, but he thought a bad promise must be kept. 
The people, too, loved Jonathan, and they said 
Saul could not put to death the man, who had 
really driven the Philistines out of their land, just 
because he had made a wicked promise. 

There is a verse which says, u Right is right, 
since God is God, and Right the day will win," 
and so it was this time. Right won the day, and 
Jonathan's life was saved; but Saul's wicked prom- 
ise had stopped the pursuit of the Philistines, and 
some of them escaped and reached their homes, 
determined some day to come back, and punish the 
Israelites for the great victory they had won that 
day. 

Map Study. 

Draw Map No. VII, indicating more perfectly 
the western boundary of Palestine. 

Locate Gilgal, the camp from which Saul 
moved. 

Gibeah, the camp of Jonathan; the pass of 
Michmash, just north of Gibeah, with Geba, the 
camp of the enemy, on the opposite side of the 
pass. 

Reference. — Bible, i Samuel, chapters 13 
and 14. Geikie, Vol. II, page 102. 



105 



Chapter XVI. 
A GIANT VICTORY. 

The army of Israel is encamped on the hill- 
side. Below them is a deep ravine; on the other 
side, the tents of the Philistines fill the valley, and 
extend far up the mountain side. 

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday pass, but 
there is no battle ; a week passes, then another, and 
another, until nearly six weeks have gone. Each 
morning the soldiers awake, thinking that before 
night the order to advance on the enemy will come. 
Each morning the great giant, Goliath, comes out 
from the Philistine camp. He strides down the 
hill, across the stream, and up in front of the 
camp of Israel. Here he marches back and forth, 
calling to them: "Send out a man to fight me! 
If he wins, we will be your slaves; but if I con- 
quer, you shall be our slaves." 

Not a man dares attack him. Look at him ! 
Who wonders that there is no one brave enough 
to fight him ! As he marches up and down, the 
Israelite soldiers feel like dwarfs. They must look 
far up to see the top of his helmet, for he is almost 
eight feet tall. His coat of mail, made of shining 
brass, quite dazzles their eyes, as he walks back 
and forth in the sun. Think of its weight; one 

106 









A Giant Victory 

hundred and fifty-seven pounds, and yet it does 
not burden him ! Then, what could their spears 
do against that great one of his, which weighs 
nineteen pounds? One blow from it would break 
them into a hundred pieces. 

As the soldiers look at him, each one wishes 
that he might be the one to kill him, but they dare 
not try. 

Every day, for forty days, that giant has 
tramped up and dow T n, up and down, in front of 
Israel's camp. Each day he makes fun of them, 
and of their God. He calls them cowards, and 
slaves, and says he will defy the army of Israel, 
which to him means God's army. Every morning 
as the soldiers of King Saul look out of their tents, 
they hope something has happened to Goliath, 
and that he will not come again, but before long 
they see him leave his tent and start down the hill. 
Each time he seems larger and more terrible than 
the day before. 

Over beyond the mountains, in the city of 
Bethlehem, lives a man whose name is Jesse. 
Three of his eight sons are in Saul's army, but 
the youngest is out on the hills taking care of his 
father's sheep. 

As the days go by and no word comes from the 
seat of war, Jesse sends David, his youngest son, 
to find out how his brothers are faring, and to 
take them some food from home. 

David, like any other boy, has been thinking 

107 



Stories of Bible Victories 



about the army, and probably wishing that he was 
old enough to be a soldier. He can hardly wait 
for his father to finish his message, so eager is he 
to be off. He thinks, perhaps, the battle has al- 
ready begun, and he runs that he may be there 
in time to see it. It seems as though he can not 
go fast enough. His load is heavy, but he can not 
stop to rest. At last he rounds the hill, and comes 
in full sight of the army drawn up in battle line. 
As he runs, he shouts for the army of Israel. But 
why does not the battle begin? On he hurries, till 
he reaches his brothers. He forgets that he has not 
seen them for a long time, and only asks why 
Israel is not fighting. 

Just then, out marches Goliath. The soldiers 
flee back to their tents. David listens to his chal- 
lenge; then, as he hears his taunts, he turns to the 
soldiers nearest him, but before he can ask a ques- 
tion, the soldiers call out: "See this giant man? 
He comes out every day and defies us. The king 
has offered a great reward to the man who will 
kill him, but every one is afraid. " 

"But," cries David, "is there not one brave 
enough to fight him ? Will you let a heathen chal- 
lenge God's army?" 

David's brothers try to stop him, but he goes 
from one soldier to another, asking the same ques- 
tions. He is so much in earnest, that the soldiers 
see that he has made up his mind to fight the 
giant. 

108 



A Giant Victory 

They take the message to King Saul, who sends 
for David. When Saul sees that he is so young 
— only a boy — he tries to show him how foolish 
it is for him to think that he can fight such a 
giant. But this is David's answer : 

"I have killed both a bear and a lion that tried 
to get my father's sheep. 'And the Lord that de- 
livered me out of the paw of the lion and out of 
the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the 
hand of this Philistine.' " 

Then Saul orders his own armor put on him, 
and gives to him his sword. David starts out ; but 
he has never worn armor before, and it is too 
heavy for him. He goes back to take it off, and 
Goliath, thinking that, as usual, there is no one 
who dares to fight him, turns toward his tent, 
shouting back and calling the men of Israel cow- 
ards and slaves. David runs from the tent of 
Saul, and as he crosses the brook after Goliath, 
picks up five smooth stones and drops them into 
his bag. His sling, which never misses the mark, 
is in his hand. As Goliath reaches the hillside, he 
may have heard a triumphant shout from Israel, 
for he turns back, and there he sees a boy, with 
neither armor nor sword, challenging him. 

He is so angry he fairly roars, as he calls out : 
"Am I a dog, that you come out to fight me this 
way? Come on, and I will give your body to the 
fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field." 

But David answers: "You come to fight me 

109- 



Stories of Bible Victories 

with a sword and spear, but I come in the name of 
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, and this day 
I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, 
that all the earth may know that there is a God 
in Israel. The battle is the Lord's, and He will 
give it into our hands. " 

The reply angers the giant still more. He 
starts toward David. One blow from his mighty 
sword and that bragging boy will have nothing 
more to say. But it is such an easy victory; it is 
really beneath a giant to fight with such a boy. 
However, he will teach him a lesson. 

David has not practiced with his sling all these 
years for nothing. He takes a stone from his 
pocket, fits it in his sling, and before Goliath 
realizes what he is doing, the stone sinks into 
the forehead of the giant, and he falls to the 
ground. 

Both armies stand watching, scarcely breathing, 
so strange is this combat. As Goliath falls, not a 
sound is heard. David now runs forward and 
leaps upon the giant. Drawing his great sword 
out of its sheath, he smites the mighty Philistine 
and cuts off his head. A shout goes up from the 
camp of Israel, while the army of the Philistines 
seems almost to melt out of sight. 

The trumpeters of Saul sound the battle-cry; 
the army starts across the ravine at a double- 
quick; the Philistines flee before them, and are 
driven out of the land. 

110 



A Giant Victory 

Not a soldier on either side but has learned 
this day that even a boy can uphold God's honor, 
and that with God to help him, there is no giant 
strong enough or great enough to overcome him. 

Map Study. 

Use Map VII for this lesson. 

Locate Bethlehem, and study its situation; the 
hills about the city, the wild flowers which David 
would have picked, the wild animals which en- 
dangered his flock, and which imply the presence 
of rocks and caves; also Gath. 

How must David have gone to get to the 
Valley of Elah, which lies just south of the city 
of Gath, the home of Goliath? 

Reference. — Bible, i Samuel, chapter 17, 
Geikie, Vol. Ill, pages 126, 135. 



Ill 






Chapter XVII. 
A VICTORY OF LOYALTY. 

After Goliath was dead, and the Philistines 
driven out of the land, King Saul sent for the 
young man who had had the courage to fight the 
giant, and took him into his own palace to 
live. Here David first saw Jonathan, the king's 
son, then a lad of more than his own age. When 
Jonathan saw him he loved him, and took off his 
own outer coat and put it on him in token of his 
love, giving him also his sword, his bow, and his 
girdle. 

Saul, too, loved David at first, and kept him 
near him much of the time. But when the people 
praised David more than they did Saul, in their 
joy over the death of the giant, Saul's love was 
turned into jealousy, and he planned to get rid of 
him. But all the people were praising him, and 
there was no opportunity. Day after day his anger 
grew, and at last he determined to slay David. 
One day, as David was playing on his harp and 
making music for the king, he threw his spear at 
him, and would have killed him, had not David 
dodged, so that the spear went into the wall. 

112 



A Victory of Loyalty 

Saul next sent David out single-handed to slay 
one hundred Philistines, in return for which he 
promised to give him his daughter, as his wife; 
he really sent him because he did not believe 
that David could do it, but thought that the 
Philistines would kill him. But God was with 
David. He was victorious over the Philistines, and 
the king was compelled to keep his promise. 

Finally David found that it was not safe for 
him to live near Saul any longer, so he left his 
wife and his dearest friend, Jonathan, and went 
out into the mountains. Here an army of the 
strongest men in the kingdom came to him. They 
lived in caves, and moved from place to place, as 
Saul learned where they were, and followed them. 
At one time Saul's army almost took David, but 
a messenger came to the king, telling him that the 
Philistines were coming up into his country, and he 
had to hurry away to drive them out. 

As soon as the Philistines were gone, Saul came 
back to the wilderness, determined to find David 
and kill him. One day he crept into a cave, and 
lay down to rest. It happened that David and 
some of his men were hiding in this very cave. 
They kept very still, so that Saul did not see them, 
and he soon lay down and went to sleep. Then 
David's men said to him: "Now is your oppor- 
tunity. Saul has tried for years to kill you, but 
to-day God has put him into your hands. You 
can do anything you wish with him." 

8 113 



Stories of Bible Victories 



As David stood there, looking at the king, he 
must have thought of that day the spear whizzed 
so close to him that he could almost feel it, and 
of the dangers all around him while he was killing 
those hundred Philistines: but most of all, he must 
have thought how Saul had given his wife to an- 
other man, while he was hiding in the wilderness. 
and of his beloved friend Jonathan, from whom 
nad been separated all these years. 

Sure.y I is chance. He could kill Saul 

so easily, and then he would be king. For had 
not Samuel told him that God had chosen him to be 
king after Saul ? 

David r:;od so long in thought that his men 
grew impatient. David dor e him, 

Saul will wake up: and then he will 

kill David/' thought the men. David moved a 
nearer, and took out rd. Yes. it surely 

would be a good thing to kill such a wicked king. 
But see what he has done ! H: cooped over and 
cut off the robe or cloak of Saul: then he stood 
up and moved away. His men would have liked 
to kill Saul then, but David would not let them. 
He told them he was he had even cut off 

iloak. because, after all, God had made Saul 
their ki 

When the king awo'- ; was in sight; 

but after he left the cave. David followed him, 
and cried after him. s 

114 



A Victory of Loyalty 

"My lord and king." When Saul saw who it 
was, David said: 

"Wherefore hearkenest thou to men's words, 
saying, 'Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?' Behold. 
this day thine eyes have seen how that Jehovah 
had delivered thee to-day into mine hand in the 
cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye 
spared thee: and I said, I will not put forth mine 
hand against my lord: for he is Jehovah's 
anointed." 

When David finished, Saul said: 

"Is this thy voice, my son David?" and he 
wept. Then he said to David: 

"Thou art more righteous than I : for thou hast 
rendered unto me good, whereas I have rendered 
unto thee evil. And thou hast declared this day 
how that thou hast dealt well with me : forasmuch 
as when Jehovah had delivered me up into thine 
hand, thou killedst me not." 

Then Saul went back to his palace: but D 
lived in the mountains. And there was peace for 
a long time between Saul and David. 

Map Study. 

Map VII is used in this lesson. 

David, a fugitive in the wildnerness, is obliged 
to flee from one mountain fastness to another. 

Going first to Adullam, he afterward flees 
across the Jordan, into the country oi the Am- 

113 






Stories of Bible Victories 

morites. Returning to his own country, he hides 
first in Hareth, then Ziph, then Maor; next in the 
cliffs of Engedi, where he spares the king's life, 
and finally in the hills about Hebron. 

•Reference. — Bible, i Samuel, chapters 21 
to 26. Geikie, Vol. Ill, page 152. 



116 



Chapter XVIII. 

THE DEFEAT OF THE PROPHETS OF 

BAAL. 

Where are all of these people going? It 
must be some great event that sends them by scores 
and by hundreds toiling along the dusty roads, and 
through the dry fields ! The hot sun beats down 
with a merciless glare; not a flower or a fern is 
to be seen, and even the leaves of the *rees aie 
bare and brown. But there is something worse 
than that; the streams are dried up so that there 
is no water to slake their thirst. No cattle are in 
the fields, for their owners have long since driven 
them into other countries, to find water for them. 

As the people come nearer, we can see that this 
is a strange gathering. Here are all the priests of 
Baal, the god of the heathen people, in their 
gorgeous robes of office ; here are members of the 
king's own household; here great throngs of the 
common people, while in the midst, the people 
parting before him, passes the king himself — the 
mighty Ahab. 

As they draw near the mountain, the king 
strains his eyes toward the summit. Yes, there 
stands, alone and unafraid, the prophet Elijah, 
who, three years before, had dared to tell King 

117 



Stories of Bible Victories 



Ahab, that because of his sins, there should 
no rain fall in his kingdom until God should tell 
Elijah to call it down; and from that day, not one 
drop had fallen. Yet he faces the multitudes, 
headed by an angry king, and is not afraid; for 
this day he is to show these priests and their ruler 
that it is Jehovah, the one true and only God, 
who has done this thing. 

As the people reach the mountain top, Elijah 
turns to them. Yes, there is the king, and yonder 
are the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, 
and four hundred of the prophets of the grove, 
for whom he sent, and the many people who have 
followed to see what was going on. 

Elijah tells them that he has called them up 
into the mountain, to prove to them which is the 
true God, Baal or Jehovah. 

He says to them: "There are four hundred 
and fifty of them who worship Baal, but I am the 
only one who worships Jehovah. Let the follow- 
ers of Baal choose two bullocks for us. Let them 
take one and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood 
for an offering, but put no fire under it. I will 
dress the other bullock and lay it on the wood, and 
put no fire under it. 

"Then let the prophets of Baal call upon Baal, 
and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the 
god that answers by fire, let him be God." 

Now, said Elijah to the prophets of Baal, u You 
choose your bullock and dress it first, for there are 
so many of you." ng 



The Defeat of the Prophets of Baal 

These prophets selected a bullock, and Elijah 
and all the people watched them as they dressed 
it. Then they placed the bullock on the wood, but 
put no fire under it. All was now ready. They 
prayed to Baal, and called upon him to send fire. 
From morning till noon they prayed. At noon 
Elijah said to them, "Cry louder; perhaps your 
god is asleep, or maybe he is on a journey and does 
not hear you." 

Then they cried with greater voice, and leaped, 
and danced, and tried in every way to make Baal 
hear and answer them ; but evening came, and the 
bullock still lay on the wood and no fire had come 
near it. 

Then Elijah said to the people, "Come near to 
me," and all the people gathered round him. He 
repaired the altar of God which was on the top 
of the mountain; then he took twelve stones and 
built upon this altar, and digged a trench all around 
it. Next he arranged the wood on the altar, cut 
the bullock in pieces and laid the pieces on the 
wood. 

"Now," he said to the people, "fill four barrels 
with water, and pour it on the wood and the 
sacrifice. " 

They did so, and he said, "Do it again," and 
they filled them again, and poured the water over 
the altar. Then said Elijah, "Do it the third time." 
This time the water ran down and filled the trench 
about the altar! When the hour for the evening 

119 



Stories of Bible Victories 

sacrifice came, Elijah prayed, and said: "Lord, 
God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be 
known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and 
that I am Thy servant, and that I have done these 
things according to Thy word. Hear me, O Lord, 
hear me, that this people may know that Thou art 
the Lord God." 

Then God sent His fire. It burned up the sac- 
rifice, the wood and the stones of the altar, and 
licked up the water in the trench. 

When the people saw this, they fell on their 
faces and said, u The Lord, He is God! The 
Lord, He is God!" 

u Then," said Elijah, "we must destroy these 
prophets of Baal." After the prophets of Baal had 
been put to death, Elijah said to the king: "Get 
thee up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of 
an abundance of rain." 

And, as at the word of God's prophet the 
heavens were closed, so at his word were they 
were opened. The rain fell; the fields and grow- 
ing things were revived, and the brooks ran full 
again. So was the word of God victorious on 
Mount Carmel ! 

Map Study. 

Use outline as in Map No. VII, marking the 
boundary between Judah and Israel, as indicated by 
dotted lines. 

120 



The Defeat of the Prophets of Baal 

Add the mountains, as have been indicated in 
the making of relief map, locating Ebal, Gerizim, 
and Mt. Carmel. 

Study the appearance of Mt. Carmel, and the 
outlook from it, on one side the sea, and on the 
other the plain of Esdraelon. 

Picture the bold, precipitous sides of the moun- 
tains as indicated by the Bible narrative; also the 
table-like summit with its deep spring of water, 
which even the three years of drought had not 
dried up. 

Reference. — i Kings, chapter 18. Geikie, 
Vol. IV, page 67. 



121 



Chapter XIX. 
THE CONQUEST OF PRIDE. 

The Israelites and Syrians were next door 
neighbors, but they were not very good friends, 
for they were constantly quarreling. As Syria was 
the larger nation, she always wanted to fight, and 
whenever there was any trouble, sent an army into 
Israel to capture some of the cities. 

But Syria had troubles of her own. Israel and 
Assyria had both made war against her, and her 
army was destroyed. Still she would not let Israel 
alone. 

Small companies of Syrians crossed the border 
line, stealing everything they could lay their hands 
on, and carrying off as many prisoners as they could 
capture. 

In Benhadad's army was a great captain. He 
was very brave, and had been the leader in many 
of the Syrian victories. He led one of these plun- 
dering expeditions into Israel, and among the pris- 
oners which he took was a girl, who became 
a maid to his wife. Very soon this maid found 
out that, though Naaman was so brave and such a 
great general, he was a leper. The little Israelite 
girl thought this was about the worst thing that 

122 



The Conquest of Pride 

could happen to a man. She was so sorry for him 
that she forgot that he had stolen her, and made 
her a slave. 

Back in her own country were many lepers, and 
she knew that no doctor could help them. But 
there in her old home dwelt a man, one of the 
prophets, of whom her people told wonderful 
things, among them, that he could heal this terrible 
disease. The more she thought of it, the more 
she felt certain that if her master could only see 
this prophet, he might yet be healed. At last she 
could stand it no longer — she must speak ; and she 
burst forth to her mistress : "Would that my lord 
were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he 
could heal him of his leprosy." 

So great was her faith that she told it again 
and again, and at last one of the servants told his 
master what the little girl had said. 

Even a little hope was not to be left untried, 
so when Captain Naaman heard of this, he went 
to King Benhadad, and asked if he might go and 
see this prophet. The king said, "Go, take with 
you many gifts; and I will also give you a letter 
to take to the king of Israel." 

When Naaman was ready to start, he had quite 
a procession, with his chariot, his servants, and the 
men to carry the gifts. He went first to the king 
of Israel, and gave to him King Benhadad's letter. 
The king read the letter and was very angry, and 
also afraid. What did Benhadad mean by asking 

123 



Stories of Bible Victories 

him to cure a man of the leprosy? Was he trying 
to pick another quarrel with him ? 

When Elisha heard of this, he said: u Why 
is the king disturbed? Let him send the man to 
me." So the king sent Naaman to Elisha. 

It was an imposing array of chariots, horses, 
and servants that drew up in front of Elisha's 
house. The captain was accustomed at home to 
have all the people wait upon him, and run to do 
his bidding, and to come out to greet him. He 
thought he was really giving to Elisha a great 
honor, by coming to his house instead of sending 
for him to come to him. Surely Elisha knew what 
a great man he was. 

But Elisha did not co'me out; he sent Gehazi, 
his servant, to inquire what Naaman wanted. 
Naaman was angry to be treated in this way, but 
perhaps Elisha did not know whence he came, and 
how great and powerful he was. He would bear 
with him. Elisha would surely come, when he 
knew that he was to have the honor of healing 
the great captain of Syria. He even had planned 
in his own mind just how it should be done, so he 
told Gehazi his errand. 

But Elisha did not want to see the man who 
had fought against Israel, and carried her people 
away to be slaves. Again he sent Gehazi back with 
this message: "Go," he said, "wash in the River 
Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come unto 
thee, and thou shalt be clean." 

124 



The Conquest of Pride 

Then was the proud Naaman very angry. The 
very idea of Elisha telling him to go and wash in 
that muddy river! "I will never do it!" he cried. 
"I thought he would surely come out to me, and 
stand, and call on the name of Jehovah, his God, 
and wave his hand over the place, and so heal 
me. Have we not in our own country far better 
rivers than all the waters of Israel? May I not 
wash in them and be clean ?" So he turned and 
went away in a rage. 

He gave orders to start back to his own 
country, but his servants could not bear to have 
him lose this chance of being made well, and one 
of them said to him: "If the prophet had bid 
thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have 
done it? Why, then, do you not do it when he 
just tells you to wash and be clean?" 

This sounded like good reasoning, but it was 
such a little thing for a great captain to do. 

At last his good sense conquered his pride, and 
he went to the River Jordan, while his servants 
stood anxiously upon the banks, watching and 
hoping. 

Again and again, and yet again did he go down 
into the little river; again and again was he tempted 
to refuse to go in, as each time he saw no change. 
But at last he did just as the prophet had told 
him, and as he came up out of the water, he was 
entirely cured. He entered his chariot and went 

125 



Stories of Bible Victories 

back to the house of Elisha. He forgot all about 
being the great Naaman. 

This time he did not wait for Elisha to come 
to him, but went to Elisha, and as he stood before 
him, he said: "Now I know that there is no God 
in all the earth but in Israel." 

He offered gifts to Elisha, but Elisha refused 
to accept them. Then Naaman asked that Elisha 
would give to his servants two mules' burdens of 
earth, that he might erect an altar to the God of 
Israel when he returned to his own country, for he 
said, "Thy servant will henceforth offer neither 
burnt offerings nor sacrifices unto any other gods, 
but unto the Lord." 

Elisha granted this request, and said unto him, 
"Go in peace;" and he went back to his own land, 
a well man. 

Map Study. 

Turn back to Map II, and locate Damascus, 
in Syria, the home of Naaman; then, turning to 
Map III, locate Shechem, the home of the king 
of Israel. Gilgal, the home of Elisha, and the 
Jordan River. 

Reference. — Bible, 2 Kings, chapter 5. 
Geikie, Vol. IV, page 126. 



126 



Chapter XX. 
A TRIUMPH OVER FEAR. 

The great Assyrian army, under Sennacherib, 
has swept across the land of Judah. Sixty cities 
have been taken, and night after night, from the 
watch-tower of Jerusalem, the watchmen have seen 
the flames leaping from the ruined towns. The 
people, watching the reflection of the fire in the sky, 
have gone to bed each night afraid to sleep lest the 
army be nearer than they think. 

On they come, but King Hezekiah is ready for 
them. Day and night the men have been at w T ork. 
Every weak spot in the city wall has been made 
strong. New watch-towers have been built, so that 
close watch may be kept on the army. But the 
greatest danger in a siege is, that the food and 
water will give out. Just outside the city is the 
reservoir that supplies the people w r ith water, and 
the first thing Sennacherib will do, will be to cut 
off this water supply. Hezekiah knows this, and 
down deep under ground, where they can not be 
seen, he has had new channels dug, bringing the 
water into the city from the bottom of the reser- 
voir. 

The light of the fires comes closer, and closer, 

127 



Stories of Bible Victories 

each night. The first thing in the morning every 
one runs to the housetop to see if the army is in 
sight. At last the morning comes, when, off to 
the north of the city, they see what they have been 
fearing. Their faces turn white, for there, quite 
close to the walls, are the archers, with their 
quivers of shining arrows; beyond are the chariots, 
and rank after rank of shields; while about the 
gates are the mounted cavalrymen. 

All day the people within the city watch that 
great army. They forget their work; they forget 
even to eat, and think only of that dull red color 
which they have seen in the sky so many nights. 
Will their homes be burned to-night, or will God 
stay this great army before them? 

Some time before this, King Hezekiah had 
made a mistake. He had thought that by paying 
a great deal of money, he could save Jerusalem. 
He had even taken the gold from the temple, in 
order to have more money. Sennacherib took the 
money, but he thought that Hezekiah must be 
afraid of him, or he would not give him so much, 
so he marched right on toward Jerusalem. Reach- 
ing the city, he placed his army so as to shut the 
gates and keep the people inside of the walls, and 
sent messengers to Hezekiah, commanding him to 
surrender. 

Hezekiah sent his lieutenants out to meet the 
men of Sennacherib; but, instead of giving the 
message to them quietly, in their own Syrian lan- 

128 



A Triumph Over Fear 

guage, the wily Assyrians shouted it out in the 
language of the Jews, so that all the people on the 
housetops could hear, hoping to frighten them. 

"Hearken not to Hezekiah," they cried, "for 
he is deceiving you when he says that your God 
can save you. Look about you everywhere. 
Where are the gods of all the nations? For they 
trusted in them, even as you trust in your God; 
and as these other gods could not save their people, 
neither shall your God save you. This great king 
sends this word to you : 'Come now, and make an 
agreement with me, and seal it by giving me a 
present, and you shall live in your own homes and 
have plenty to eat and drink.' " 

The people were very, very brave, for they 
were true to Hezekiah, and instead of answering 
the Assyrian messengers, they kept perfectly quiet 
and waited to hear what their king would say. 
But the messengers who had gone out to meet the 
embassadors of Sennacherib were frightened, and 
came to the king in great distress, with the word of 
the Assyrians. Close behind them came other mes- 
sengers, bearing a letter from Sennacherib, repeat- 
ing his threats and his boasting, that the God of 
Israel was powerless to save the city. 

Hezekiah said, "Only God can save us 
now;" and he went to the temple, covered himself 
with sackcloth, as the custom was, and threw him- 
self upon his face in prayer, before the Lord. 

"O God of Israel," he cried, "show these 

9 129 



Stories of Bible Victories 

wicked people that all these other gods are but 
wood and stone, made by the hand of man; that 
Thou only art the true God who made the heavens 
and the earth. Save Thy people, I pray, and let all 
the world know that Thou alone art God." 

Even as he prayed, God spoke to him through 
the prophet Isaiah, saying: "I have heard thee. 
Tell the king of Assyria that he has defied the 
living God. His errand shall fail utterly, and his 
army shall be cut down. For I will defend this 
city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My 
servant David's sake." 

That night the angel of the Lord came down 
upon the camp of the Assyrians. We do not know 
just what happened, but this wicked army that had 
defied the living God was terribly smitten. In the 
morning, when the Israelites returned to their 
watch on the city wall, only Sennacherib and a very 
few of his men were left alive, and these hastened 
away to their own country. 

The people in Jerusalem were O ! so glad that 
they had been true to their God and their king; 
for their homes were saved — their city not burned. 
Jehovah had taken care of His people. 

Map Study. 

Turn back to Plan II, mark outline of As- 
syria, and complete name. 

Trace journey of Sennacherib's army, north 
along the Tigris, west through Mesopotamia, south 

130 



A Triumph Over Fear 

to Damascus, and into Palestine by way of 
Lebanon. 

Imagine his great array of chariots, horsemen, 
and archers, climbing the hills and over the rocks, 
digging wells where water was scarce, and building 
bridges over the mountain torrents, and roads 
through the swampy wadys. 

Passing southward, Gaza was captured; next 
Samaria was taken, and the march continued into 
Judah ; the walled cities were taken, and the army 
laid siege to Jerusalem. 

Reference. — Bible, 2 Kings, chapters 18 and 
19. Geikie, Vol. IV, page 434. 



131 



Chapter XXI. 
A BOY'S VICTORY. 

A great city in the Old Testament days would 
look strange to one now. Try to imagine an im- 
mense wall ten miles long on each side, with two 
hundred and fifty watch-towers built up from it; 
on each of the four sides, twenty-five gates of iron. 
Running through the city a river, crossed by 
bridges and ferry boats; and within the walls the 
most beautiful buildings, shining in the sun with 
the colors of the rainbow. What was the name of 
this city? Babylon, the largest city in the world 
at that time. 

Out of this city marched the great army of 
Nebuchadnezzar, across the country, over moun- 
tains and plains they marched, day after day, till 
they came to the city of Jerusalem. 

When they left Jerusalem again, besides the 
soldiers, there were a number of boys, the strongest 
and finest looking of all the Jewish boys. 

These boys were prisoners, and were being 
carried away from father, mother, and home. It 
was a long, hard march, but still it was a great one 
to these boys, who had never been far from Jerusa- 
lem. Each day brought new and wonderful scenes, 

132 



A Boy's Victory 

but the most marvelous of all was the day when 
they came in sight of that great wall, with its two 
hundred and fifty watch-towers. Inside they could 
see the tall buildings enameled in blue, red, and 
gold. It was a great sight! 

On, the army marched, through one of the iron 
gates, and up through the streets of the city. 

The company in which w r ere the boys, marched 
not to the prison, or the slave market, but straight 
to the palace, w 7 here the boys learned that they 
w r ere to live, and to be educated by King Nebu- 
chadnezzar, for his service. 

As the boys w T andered about the palace it 
seemed like a city in itself, and such a beautiful 
one ! Everywhere were fine pictures, engravings, 
and beautiful flowers. 

Babylon was in a level country, but outside the 
windows of the palace the boys saw hills, rising, 
one above another, covered w T ith grass, flowers, and 
great trees. Later they learned that these were 
artificial hills, built by Nebuchadnezzar for one of 
his queens, whose home had been in a hilly country. 

The boys were dressed in the uniform of the 
king's cadets, and, that they might forget all about 
their homes and their God, their names were 
changed to heathen names. Daniel w r as named 
Belteshazzar, after the heathen god Bel. The 
names of his three friends were changed also. 

One other thing the boys soon found out. 
They were divided into companies, and each com- 

133 



Stories of Bible Victories 

pany was put under the care of a man called a 
melzar, or caretaker, who watched them all the 
time, while they were in the king's training school. 
In this school they not only wore the cadet uniform 
and studied as the king had ordered, but their 
food was also ordered by the king. The boys 
rather enjoyed the fine uniforms, and were willing 
to study hard, but when it came to the food, 
Daniel and his three friends could not eat. They 
were Jewish boys, even in their Babylonian clothes 
and with their heathen names, and their Jehovah 
had forbidden the drinking of wine or the eating 
of certain things that the king ordered for them. 

What was to be done ? u Why, eat it, of course, 
if the king ordered it," some of the boys said. Not 
so Daniel; he knew the king could kill him if he 
wished, but that made no difference to him. He 
would not eat what was wrong. He went to the 
chief melzar and told him how he felt about it, 
asking that he and his friends might eat just vege- 
tables and drink water. The melzar was very fond 
of Daniel, and would have liked to grant his re- 
quest, but he did not dare disobey the king's orders. 

He said to Daniel: "I fear my lord the king, 
who hath appointed your meat and your drink: 
for why should he see your faces worse looking 
than the youths who are of your own age? So 
would ye endanger my head." 

Did Daniel give up? Not a bit of it. He 
knew what was right, and he stood by it. He 

134 



A Boy's Victory 

next went to his own melzar, and made this propo- 
sition: "Try us for ten days; give us vegetables 
to eat and water to drink. At the end of the ten 
days, examine us, and if we do not look as well 
and as strong as the other boys, we will eat just 
what you give us." 

This seemed fair, and the melzar agreed. The 
other boys had their rich foods and sparkling wines, 
and perhaps the melzar thought that as Daniel 
and his friends saw these tempting dishes at every 
meal, they would be ready at the end of the ten 
days to yield to the temptation to eat them, and 
cause no more trouble. 

But he did not know how strong a boy can be 
when he knows he is in the right. When the ten 
days were ended, he found that Daniel and his 
friends were stronger, and fairer than any of the 
other boys. 

After that he made no more objection, and for 
the three years that the boys were in the training 
school, they ate only the food that they had been 
taught in their own homes to eat. At the end of 
that time all the cadets were brought before the 
king and examined, and among them all there were 
none that stood so high as Daniel, Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abednego. 

Map Study. 
Mark the outline and complete the name of 
Chaldea on Map II. 

135 



Stories of Bible Victories 

Locate Babylon. Trace journey from Jerusa- 
lem to Babylon. 

Nebuchadnezzar, called home by the death of 
his father, took the short route across the desert, 
but the army, with the prisoners, probably took 
a northern route around the desert, going north 
possibly on the east side of the Jordan, east into 
Mesopotamia, and then south on the west side of 
the Euphrates, through the wonderfully fertile 
valley, possibly through the Garden of Eden, to 
Babylon. 

Reference. — B i b 1 e , Daniel, chapter i. 
Geikie, Vol. VI, page 259. 



136 



fr80Z£ fift 



Chapter XXII. 
THE TRIUMPH OF FAITHFULNESS. 

The boy who had dared to stand for what ht 
knew was right, even when it meant the disobeying 
of the king's orders, was now an old man nearly 
ninety years old. 

Darius, the new king, knew the kind of a man 
Daniel was, for he appointed him the ruler over all 
the princes in his kingdom. The men of Babylon, 
w T ho were rulers under Daniel, were very jealous 
of him. They said, u He is only a Jew, and really 
is a slave, and why should he be made ruler over 
us?" 

So one said, u Let us watch him, and the first 
time he makes a mistake, we will go to the king 
and tell him of it." 

But Daniel was so true, that he did not do one 
thing with which they could find fault. 

They finally gave this up, and said, "We shall 
not find any occasion against this Daniel, except 
we find it against him concerning the law of his 
God." 

After a long talk and much planning, they felt 
sure that at last they would be able to overthrow 
Daniel, and at the same time make the king think 
that they were very devoted to him. 

137 



Stories of Bible Victories 

Together they went to the king. As they came 
before him, they bowed low, saying: u King 
Darius, live forever. All the presidents and offi- 
cers of your kingdom would like to pay you a 
great honor. We have thought of many plans, 
but believe we have found one that will please you. 
We wish to establish a royal law that whosoever 
shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty 
days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into 
the den of lions. To make this decree strong, O 
king, sign the writing and seal it according to the 
law of the Medes and Persians, that it may not be 
altered." 

King Darius was much flattered, and signed the 
decree, not stopping to think of all that it might 
mean. The men went out from the presence of 
the king, knowing that they would succeed this 
time; for they knew that Daniel was a man who 
was afraid of nothing, and who could not be fright- 
ened out of doing what he believed was right. 

The decree went forth. No one was to pray 
to any god, but the king, for thirty days. 

How closely the men watched Daniel ! Even- 
ing came; he went to his home. He always kept 
his window toward Jerusalem open. To-night he 
did not close it, but knelt before it, just as he had 
done every night since he had been in Babylon. 
The men said nothing, but again they watched, and 
in the morning Daniel knelt and prayed to Jehovah 
the God of Israel. Noon came, and as his custom 

138 



The Triumph of Faithfulness 

was, Daniel went to his house and prayed to his 
God. 

The men waited no longer. They hurried away 
to the king. As they came near, they said to him : 
"Hast thou not signed a decree that every man 
that shall make a petition unto any god or man 
within thirty days, save unto thee, O king, shall 
be cast into the den of lions ?" 

The king answered, "The thing is true accord- 
ing to the law of the Medes and Persians, which 
can not be changed." 

Then they said, "That Daniel, who is one of 
the captives of Judah, has no respect for you, O 
king, nor pays any attention to the decree which 
you have signed, but prays three times a day to 
his God." 

When they said this, King Darius knew that 
these men had made this plot to kill Daniel. He 
was very much displeased, and tried all the after- 
noon to find some way to save Daniel. He would 
have taken back the foolish decree, but the men 
reminded him that according to the laws of their 
country he could not change it, after he had put 
his seal on it. 

When night came he commanded that Daniel 
be brought, and cast into the den of lions. Darius 
could not save him, even though Daniel had been 
so faithful to him ; but somehow he felt that such 
a man as Daniel must in some way be saved. As 
Daniel was brought before him, he said to him, 

139 



Stories of Bible Victories 

u Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will 
deliver thee." 

Daniel did not know what God would do, but 
he was not afraid. He knew he could trust his 
God. 

After he was let down into the lions' den, a 
stone was put over the mouth of the den, and 
the king sealed it with his seal, so that no one 
could take it away. The king went to his palace, 
but he was very unhappy; he could not eat and he 
could not sleep. It was such a long night as he 
sat and thought about Daniel, the truest and 
bravest man in his kingdom, in the den with all 
those fierce lions. 

Early in the morning he went out to the lions' 
den. He was afraid to go, but he could n't wait. 
He had never heard of any one staying all night 
in a lions' den, and being alive, but it seemed to 
him as though Daniel's God surely would in some 
way take care of him. 

When he reached the den, he was afraid to call 
lest there should be no answer. Finally, in a voice 
so sad that it sounded very strange, he said, u O 
Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, 
whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee 
from the lions?" 

Almost before he finished speaking, the voice 
of Daniel came back, saying: "O king, live for- 
ever. My God has sent His angels, and hath shut 
the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me, for- 

140 



The Triumph of Faithfulness 

as much as before Him I was found innocent, 
and also before thee, O king, I have done no hurt." 

Then the king was exceedingly glad, and com- 
manded that Daniel should be taken up out of the 
den. So Daniel was taken out of the den of lions, 
and he was not hurt in any way because he had not 
been afraid, but had trusted God. 

King Darius commanded that the wicked 
men, who had tried in this way to kill Daniel, 
should be thrown into the lions' den. He then 
issued a new decree, that every one in his kingdom 
should fear the God of Daniel. 

Map Study. 

Visit Babylon. See how many places of in- 
terest can be found. 

Reference. — B i b 1 e , Daniel, chapter 6. 
Geikie, Vol VI, pages 278, 399. 



141 



Chapter XXIII. 
THE SECRET OF ALL VICTORY. 

The great Cyrus was now king of Persia. For 
seventy years the Jews had been captives in that 
land. Some of them were still slaves; some were 
officers in the king's court, and others had grown 
very rich, but they had not forgotten Jehovah, and 
they often longed to go back to Jerusalem. 

The prophet had said that Cyrus was the man 
whom God had appointed to set His people free. 
Perhaps Cyrus had heard how the God of the 
Jews had closed the mouths of the lions, when 
Daniel, His faithful servant, had been thrown into 
their den; for in the very year when God had said 
that the Jews should return to Jerusalem, mes- 
sengers were sent far and near, all over the king- 
dom, with the glad tidings, that, according to a 
decree of King Cyrus, all the Jews were free, and 
that he would help them in rebuilding the temple 
in Jerusalem. 

Immediately a company was made up to go 
back and begin the work. Those who did not go 
gave silver and gold for the work, and Cyrus gave 
to them the golden vessels that Nebuchadnezzar 

142 






The Secret of All Victory 

had carried away from the temple, so many years 
before. 

At last all was ready. It was a vast company 
that gathered together for the journey. When 
the caravan started there were about fifty thousand 
people — men, women, and children over twelve 
years old. 

Look at the great procession. Yonder is 
Zerubbabel, the leader, and near him the musicians, 
with tabrets and flutes. A thousand mounted 
cavalry men are waiting to guard them as they 
cross the desert. Next come seven hundred and 
thirty-six horses, upon which ride the wealthier 
people in the company. See how they step in time 
to the music ! 

Back of them are four hundred and twenty 
stately camels stepping along in a dignified way, 
and on their backs are the aged people, and the 
children. Six thousand, two hundred and seventy 
asses carried the baggage, tents, and provisions; 
then came the long procession, the rest of the fifty 
thousand people, on foot. 

It was a long, long march. They started early 
in the morning, sometimes before the sun was up, 
and traveled till it grew so warm that they were 
obliged to stop and rest; then on again till dark. 
At night they camped; there were tents for those 
who were not strong, but the most of the company 
wrapped their coats about them, and slept out-of- 
doors under the stars. 

143 



Stories of Bible Victories 

They traveled northward on the west side of 
the Euphrates River, then westward toward Jerusa- 
lem. For four months they traveled, but at last 
the Jordan River was reached. Then they traveled 
faster. They could hardly wait for the long, hard 
journey to end. 

At last, one morning, some one called: " Jerusa- 
lem, Jerusalem; I can see the hills of Jerusalem!" 

What a shout there was ! Every one tried to 
get a glimpse of the city. The word went through 
the line, and one after another took up the cry, 
u Jerusalem, Jerusalem." 

Then all became very quiet, for O ! after all, 
it was such .a sad home-coming. The beautiful, 
shining temple, which had always been the first 
thing to be seen as one came near Jerusalem, was 
gone ; the walls were broken down, and only a few 
houses had been rebuilt. 

Many of the older men and women could re- 
member the old, beautiful Jerusalem. They could 
not look on this desolation unmoved, and so the 
boys and girls were surprised when, after the first 
glad cry, " Jerusalem," they saw tears on every 
face. 

As they came nearer, they found there were so 
few houses in the city that they must stay in the 
neighboring cities, which Cyrus had given them. 

The first work of these exiles was to restore 
the worship of Jehovah, and to do this, the temple 
must be rebuilt. They found many of those, who 

144 



The Secret of All Victory 

had not been carried away as captives, ready to 
help. A contribution was called for, and each gave 
what he could. Some gave a large amount, and 
some only a little. 

The people gathered in Jerusalem; an altar 
twice the size of the old one was built; and many 
people from the country came to be present at the 
offering of the first sacrifice. It was a very happy 
time for everybody. 

Zerubbabel now organized his forces, and set 
them to work clearing away the rubbish of the old 
temple. Masons and carpenters were hired, and 
lumber brought down on rafts to Joppa, and then 
carried across the country to Jerusalem. All this 
took a long time, and it was over a year before the 
work on the new temple was really begun. 

On the second day of the second month, the 
priests, attired in new vestments, laid the first stone, 
u amidst the blasts of silver trumpets, the clash of 
cymbals, the music of many kinds of instruments, 
and the singing of psalms." In all this rejoicing 
the old men could not keep from crying as they 
thought of the old temple, but the boys and girls 
and the young people shouted in their happiness. 

The natives around Jerusalem had become in- 
terested. The Samaritans sent messengers to 
Zerubbabel, offering their help in the building of 
the temple. The Samaritans worshiped idols, and 
Zerubbabel said that no idolater must help in build- 
ing the temple of Jehovah. 

10 145 



Stories of Bible Victories 



The Samaritans had really intended to be kind 
when they offered to help, and when their kindness 
was refused, they became angry. A league was 
formed against Zerubbabel. Messengers were sent 
to King Cyrus, telling him that he had been de- 
ceived; that the Israelites were really plotting 
against him ; and an order came from him to stop 
the work on the temple. 

Several years passed. The people became dis- 
couraged. They were sure there had been a mis- 
take somewhere, and that God did not mean them 
to build the temple. 

Ten years passed; eleven years, twelve, four- 
teen, and still the work on the temple stood still. 

Then an old, whitehaired prophet appeared in 
Jerusalem, urging the people to go to work and 
finish the temple; but they had lost heart. Again 
and again he speaks to them, but he can not revive 
their courage. 

Then God sends a young man, one born after 
Jerusalem was destroyed, and whose whole life 
had been spent in captivity. Zachariah repeats 
the message of the old prophet, Haggai, and tries 
to influence the people to work. 

One night he has six visions. These he brings 
to the people to show them, that it does not make 
any difference how weak or how powerful they 
are, how large or how small the army of the 
enemy, for it is God's work they are to do, and 
God's message to them is "Not by might nor by 

146 



The Secret of All Victory 

power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." 
But God encouraged them still more, for He said 
to them : "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the 
foundations of this house; his hands also shall 
finish it." 

Such messages brought back courage; then 
came a message from the new king, Darius, rati- 
fying the decree of Cyrus, commanding the rebuild- 
ing of the temple, and the work went on steadily, 
enthusiasm increasing daily, and in four years — 
twenty years after the great caravan left Babylon 
— the victory was won, and the temple was com- 
pleted, not by might nor by power, but by God's 
Spirit. 

So the Israelites, after their years of wandering 
in the Wilderness, their possession of Canaan, and 
their seventy years of exile, learned once more that 
this was, after all, the secret of all victory, and 
that God had tried to teach them through all these 
years that victory was won, "Not by might nor 
by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of 
hosts." 

Map Study. 

The route taken by those returning to Jerusa- 
lem lay northward, on the west side of the Eu- 
phrates, then across the desert toward Lebanon, 
which they approached from the north ; then on to 
Jerusalem. This journey across the desert lay over 
a hard gravel plain, with no mountains, springs, 
trees, or flowers to break the monotony. 

147 



Stories of Bible Victories 

It occupied about four months. 

Many gathered in Babylon, and started from 
there; others joined them along the route, while 
others from distant parts of Persia followed later. 

Reference. — Bible, Ezra, chapters i to 6. 
Geikie, Vol. VI, page 408. 



148 



Chapter XXIV. 
VICTORY THROUGH UNITED EFFORT. 

For seventy years the Jews had been captives 
in a strange land, but now they were going back 
to their own homes. Not all could go, and among 
those left behind was a young man named Nehe- 
miah. Perhaps they thought he was too young 
to go, or it may be that, as his older brother, 
Hanani, was going, it was thought best for him 
to stay in Persia, for he was the king's cup-bearer. 

Though Nehemiah lived in the beautiful palace 
at Shushan, he had not forgotten that he was a 
Jew. O, how he wanted to go back to Jerusalem ! 
Some days he could hardly wait to hear from those 
who had gone back. 

After a long time, one day, who should come 
to see him but this same brother, Hanani, who 
he supposed was still in Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah could hardly wait to say, "How- 
do-you-do," he was so anxious to hear about Jerusa- 
lem. "Tell me, Hanani, all about everything. 
Did you have any trouble getting back? How did 
the city look? Was the temple wholly destroyed? 
Has it been rebuilt? Does it seem like old times 

149 



Stories of Bible Victories 

there? Did you find any of the old friends? Is 
Jerusalem as great a city as it was?" 

As Hanani answered first one question and then 
another, Nehemiah's face grew sad, for he saw 
that Jerusalem was not now the great and beautiful 
city he had learned to know, as well through the 
stories of his people, as though he himself had seen 
it in the days of its glory. 

u One great trouble," said Hanani, "is the walls. 
They are broken down in many places, and the 
gates have been carried off. Jerusalem can never 
be a great city again till these are rebuilt." When 
Nehemiah heard this, he sat down and wept; but 
he was not the kind of a man to waste time crying. 
What was to be done about those walls? What 
could he do? 

The first thing, of course, was to talk to God 
about it. He told God all about it, and asked 
Him to give him favor with the king so that the 
king would help him. 

Then Nehemiah came to the hardest task of 
all. He had to just wait and do nothing for four 
months; but during all this time he kept thinking 
and praying. 

One day, as he carried the king's wine to him, 
his face was very sad. The king noticed this, and 
said, u Why do you look so sad? You are not 
sick; something must be troubling you." 

Then Nehemiah was afraid if he told the king 
it might anger him, and, even though he was 

150 



Victory Through United Effort 

his cup-bearer, he might throw him into prison, or 
kill him. 

But here was his chance, and Nehemiah was 
no coward. He told the king all about the trouble 
in his own country, and that his heart was sad 
because the city of his fathers was desolate. Then 
the king said, "What is your request ?" 

Nehemiah prayed to God as he answered, "If 
thy servant has found favor in thy sight, send me 
to my own country that I may rebuild the walls of 
Jerusalem." 

The king said: u Go back to Jerusalem for a 
time, and I will make you the governor of Jerusa- 
lem, so that you will have the right to rebuild the 
walls." He also gave him passports through the 
country, and a letter to the keeper of the forests, 
telling him to supply Nehemiah with timber. 

So Nehemiah went back to Jerusalem, and the 
people were very proud and happy to have one of 
their own people as governor. He did not tell 
his plans to any one. He spent two or three days 
looking about him; then, waiting one night till 
every one was asleep, he started off on horseback 
to examine the walls. At one place he found the 
way blocked by the ruins. He was obliged to dis- 
mount and lead his horse. He followed the walls 
as closely as he could, making note of the breaks, 
and the weak places, until he had gone entirely 
around the city, and once more was at the gate. 
He had been so quiet that he reached his home 

151 



Stories of Bible Victories 

without waking any one, or letting the people 
know where he had been. 

Now he was ready to go to work. He called 
all the people together, and told them his plans, 
and his determination to rebuild the walls. No 
time was to be lost. They must get to work at 
once. He made them feel that it could be done, 
and many volunteered to go to work. 

He divided the wall into sections, and assigned 
to each family, a section as near its own home as 
possible. Even the priests and the Levites helped. 

The people had a mind to work, but the clear- 
ing away of the rubbish, and putting in of the 
repairs was a great undertaking; the weather was 
very hot, and many of the people were not strong 
enough to stand it; then, too, with so many at work 
it was hard to keep every one supplied with food; 
difficulties beset him on every hand, but Nehemiah 
was not discouraged. 

Another trouble now came from without. The 
governors in the countries about Judah were dis- 
pleased that Nehemiah had been made governor 
of Judah, and they did not want the walls of 
Jerusalem rebuilt. At first they just made fun of 
the people, because they did not think they could 
doit. One of them said: "You need not be afraid; 
if they do get the walls built, a jackal climbing up 
over them will knock them down." Others said, 
"Do they think they are going to perform a miracle 
and build the walls in a day?" 

152 






Victory Through United Effort 

They watched for many days, expecting to see 
them give up the work because it was too much 
for them. But Nehemiah and the people were not 
to be overcome by their ridicule, and the work went 
on so rapidly, that these governors soon saw that 
unless they stopped them, the walls would indeed 
be finished. They formed a league to march 
against Jerusalem and seize it. Spies told Nehe- 
miah what they were going to do, and he planned 
to meet the attack. The work, he said, must not 
stop, but his plans must be changed. He divided 
the workmen into two companies ; one company he 
stationed as guards at the weak places in the wall, 
the other company pushed the work as fast as 
posible, working with their swords at their sides, 
and their spears near by, where they could get 
them at a moment's notice. Watchmen stationed 
all around the walls kept a careful lookout. Nehe- 
miah kept a trumpet at his side, that he might give 
instant warning if there were signs of an attack. 

The guards were divided into two companies, 
one being on duty by day, and one at night. 

Nehemiah seemed to be everywhere, both night 
and day; neither he nor his bodyguard took off 
their clothes while the danger lasted. 

The people, led by the courage of Nehemiah, 
became more eager in their work. The walls grew 
rapidly. The enemy, seeing that their plan was 
discovered, disbanded their army and now tried by 
all kinds of strategy to kill Nehemiah. To add 

153 



Stories of Bible Victories 

to the difficulties, there were traitors inside of the 
city who were trying to trap him, but Nehemiah 
was too good a soldier for that. 

In just fifty-two days the walls were completed 
and the gates set up. 

Nehemiah has succeeded in doing the work he 
came to do. Jerusalem is once more a walled city, 
a city to be proud of. He now appoints a guard 
for the city and the temple, and enforces some of 
the forgotten laws; and then keeps his promise to 
go back to Shushan to the king. 

But Nehemiah's heart is in Jerusalem, and he 
later returns with added power from the king, to 
spend the rest of his life in the city of his fathers. 

Map Study. 

Turn to Map II and complete outlines of 
Media and Persia. Locate Susa or Shushan. The 
exiles this time took the same route as in Lesson 
Twenty-two. Starting at Susa, they passed south 
of Babylon and, probably crossing the desert by 
what is known as the southern route, crossed the 
Jordan just north of the Dead Sea. 

Reference. — Bible, Nehemiah, chapters i to 
6. Geikie, Vol. VI, page 488. 



154 



Chapter XXV. 
THE CONQUEST OF SELF. 

The palace of the Persian king, Ahasuerus, 
was a strange battle ground. The floors were of 
marble and pearl; the couches of silver and gold; 
the curtains of blue and purple, fastened with white 
cords to silver curtain poles ; and the drinking cups 
of pure gold. There was not one thing to make 
one think of war. 

Yet in this beautiful palace a fierce battle was 
in progress. The king's prime minister, the wicked 
Haman, to satisfy his desire for revenge upon the 
only man in the kingdom who refused to bow be- 
fore him, had obtained from the king a command 
that all the Jews in the country should be put to 
death. 

This one man, Mordecai, was a Jew; but 
Ahasuerus never thought of that, nor remembered 
that to this same Mordecai he owed his life; that 
but for him two assassins would have gained en- 
trance to the palace and murdered the king. 

Throughout the city there was weeping and 
wailing among the Jews. The news of the terrible 
command had spread like wild-fire, and there could 

155 



Stories of Bible Victories 

be no escape; for, once written, no decree of the 
king of the Medes and Persians might ever be 
changed. 

There was but one hope. Though the king 
himself did not know it, his beautiful young wife, 
Queen Esther, was a Jewess, and of the family of 
Mordecai. Indeed, he was her cousin, and she had 
grown up in his home. 

Ahasuerus little dreamed that his careless com- 
mand would touch the queen, but Mordecai knew 
that the venegance of Haman would not spare her. 
Through her, and her alone, the doom of the 
Jewish people might be turned aside. Mordecai, 
therefore, sent a messenger to her, telling her of 
the king's command, and that she must go to him 
and plead for her people. 

Esther sent the messenger back, saying: u Go, 
remind my cousin that there is a law in this king- 
dom, that whoever goes into the king's presence 
unless he is bidden, will be put to death, unless 
the king extend his golden scepter; and he has 
not sent for me for thirty days." 

The messenger repeats these words to Morde- 
cai. u Go back to Esther," he says, u and say to her, 
Mordecai says, 'Somebody will save the Jews, and 
who knows but thou art come into the kingdom 
for such an hour as this.' " 

As Esther hears this message, her heart almost 
stands still with fear. She does not answer so 
quickly this time. Can it be that God wants her 

156 



Conquest of Self 

to go in before the king? It would be almost 
like taking her own life. One never can tell what 
Ahasuerus will do. If he should happen to be cross 
or angry, she will surely lose her life. It might 
make him angry just to see her. 

"O! No, I can't do it/ 1 she thinks; u surely God 
would not want me to risk my life in that way. 

u But w r ait a moment. There are all those 
Jews, my own people. They will be killed unless 
I help them." 

It is a hard battle for the young queen. Some- 
times it seems as though thought for herself must 
surely conquer, but at last the victory is won. 

"Return, " says Esther to the messenger; "tell 
my cousin that I will go in unto the king. That 
if I perish, I perish. But first let all the Jews 
in the kingdom fast and pray for three days, and 
I and my maidens will fast also." 

The three days of fasting past, Esther put on 
her royal robes, to go in unto the king. As she 
moved about her beautiful rooms, she knew it 
might be that this was the last time she should 
ever see all the things she loved so much. As 
her maids dressed her in the magnificent dress of 
the queen of the great Ahasuerus, they thought she 
had never looked so beautiful before, but they were 
very sad, for they knew they might never see her 
again. Did Esther retreat? No, indeed; the vic- 
tory had been won when her answer was sent to 
Mordecai. She was the strong conqueror now. 

157 



Stories of Bible Victories 



With a last loving look upon her maidens, 
with a firm step, and a look of noble courage in 
her face, she begins her dangerous journey from 
her own rooms to the audience chamber of the 
king. 

As she enters the palace door, the nobles start 
in terror. "She has not been summoned by the 
king! What will he do? Must this wonderfully 
beautiful woman die?" The king sees her. She 
is so very beautiful, that as he looks at her he 
loves her. 

All are waiting. Every eye is on the king; no 
one scarcely dares to breathe. What will he do? 
Watch! See! He surely is extending the golden 
scepter; and Esther, a prayer of thanksgiving to 
God rising from her heart, advances toward the 
king. 

Not a word does Esther say of her real mis- 
sion. She just invites the king and Haman to a 
banquet the next day. They accept, and the king 
is charmed with the entertainment. He knows she 
wishes to ask some favor from him, and asks her 
her request, promising to give her anything she 
wants, even to the half of his kingdom; but again 
Esther invites him to another banquet. 

It seemed a long time to the Jews, who were 
so anxiously waiting to hear whether their lives 
were to be saved or not, but God honors such vic- 
tories as Esther's. 

That night the king could not sleep. He 

158 



Conquest of Self 

thought of the time when there had been a plot 
to kill him, and Mordecai had sent word to Esther 
and warned him. He sent for the court records 
and found that Mordecai had never received any 
reward. 

Haman had not been able to sleep that night 
either, because he was so angry with Mordecai, 
who would not bow dow T n to him. He had risen 
early and had a scaffold built on which to hang 
Mordecai, and now, while it was still early, he 
came to the king to make his request. The king 
met him with the words: 

"What should be done to the man w T hom the 
king delighteth to honor?" 

Haman. thinking that he was the man, was 
filled with pride, as he said: u Let the royal gar- 
ments which the king is used to wear be brought, 
and put upon the man whom the king would honor ; 
let a horse upon which the king has ridden be 
brought for him to ride upon, and let it be led 
through the city by the noblest of the princes, who 
shall cry aloud, 'Thus shall it be done to the man 
whom the king delighteth to honor.' " 

The saying pleased the king, and he gave 
orders to Haman to go and do unto Mordecai 
just as he had said. 

Haman dared not disobey, so instead of hang- 
ing Mordecai, he led his horse through the city, 
paying him the highest honors of the kingdom. 

When the time came for Esther's banquet, and 

159 



Stories of Bible Victories 

the king again asked her request, she told him the 
whole story. 

Ahasuerus was very angry with Haman, when 
Esther told him that he was the man that had 
plotted to kill her people. Haman went to Esther 
to plead for his life, but this made the king still 
more angry. He gave orders that Haman should 
be "put to death, and when one of his attendants 
told him of the gallows which Haman had built 
for Mordecai, the king commanded that he should 
be hung on that gallows. 

He then told Esther and Mordecai to write 
a letter to all the Jews, and sign it with the king's 
signet. In this letter she told them of the decree 
that they should be killed, but also told them to 
gather themselves together and fight for their lives. 
She commanded them to kill all those who tried 
to kill them. So, though it seemed a long time to 
wait, Esther really did save her people, on that 
day when she was strong enough to win the victory 
over herself. 

Map Study. 

Make a visit in Shushan. 
Reference. — Bible, the Book of Esther. 
Geikie, Vol. VI, page 447. 



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